Practicing birthday inclusion; inspiring world peace

Happy peace day to the world!
Here are my worlds colliding...

It’s not that I try to be inclusive, it’s just who I am. So when it came to the auspicious occasion of my 10th birthday, the celebration inadvertently became the party of all birthday parties.

Let’s be real, Thursday was a historic day, bringing together unlikely sides to sign a groundbreaking peace agreement. But that was coming on the heels of my pwn party where my worlds collided with aplomb …and fun. A true enactment of “the table of brotherhood.” 

Speaking of brotherhood, Lucas is always
hard-pressed to not be the center of attention

And it all started with me celebrating my first in-country birthday since I was 1. We decided to coincide the timing and location of the party with a farewell to my group leaders at Shalva. Thanks to coronavirus, Shalva was suddenly shut down two weeks ago and we never had a proper group goodbye.

My guest list expanded from the Shalva girls, who fearlessly led our group this disjointed year, to include other volunteers from Shalva, some of my friends in our group and then expanded exponentially with an invitation to my second grade (going on third) at school.

We pulled this off in less than 24 hours. Mommy and Daddy worried about things like kosher and gluten-free food. We threw some picnic blankets on the grass at Shalva’s inclusive park (in keeping with the theme of my party). 

We broke bread together. Or cake.

No I'm not smoking a peace pipe

Bringing together people from different backgrounds shouldn’t be that hard. Here we were —kids with and without extra chromosomes; Jews, Muslims, Christians and even atheists — singing Happy Birthday in Hebrew and Arabic to a Christian and an Orthodox Jew respectively.

My Shalva leaders cried buckets of tears watching me interact with the neuro-typical friends from school while the parents gazed in amazement at these teenagers who have dedicated years of their lives to volunteer with kids like me. It was a mutual admiration society.

And then, minutes later, clearly taking a queue from my playbook, Pres. Donald Trump announced a historic peace treaty, the first between Israel and a Muslim state in a quarter of a decade!

I am so proud and elated that my friends and I were the inspiration for world peace! 

Leaders of the world, next time you’re looking for a peace treaty, you might want to call us.

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