The Family Of A Man Who Never Had A Birthday Party As A Child Throws Him A Surprise Party To Give Him A Positive Memory
His 45th birthday was his first celebration.
@shotswithvero / TikTok A woman named Veronica Pulido posted a video on TikTok that garnered 2 million views. She captured an emotional family moment, showing just how meaningful a small gesture can be.
A man who never had a birthday party as a child was thrown a surprise party to give him a positive memory.
In her TikTok, Pulido wrote, “My uncle was asked about his favorite childhood memory. He said he didn’t have one, that he never even had a bday party.”
Photo: TikTok / shotswithvero
She noted that when her uncle’s father passed away, the burial fell on her uncle’s birthday. “So I decided to get our family together and throw him a surprise party, so he can now have a happy memory of his birthday,” Pulido explained.
Pulido posted footage of her uncle enjoying his party with members of his family. She captured him dancing, amongst other couples dancing. He’s even shown handing out candy from a piñata.
The last shot is of him standing before a cake in the shape of the numbers “45,” with candles glowing, as his family surrounds him.
The caption underneath the post read, “It was like seeing his inner child heal.”
The loving niece got her family together so her uncle could celebrate his birthday for the first time.
All of the comments celebrated Pulido for the happiness she offered her uncle. As one person declared, “He waited 45 years for the best birthday ever. He waited for you.”
Photo: TikTok / shotswithvero
The top comment claimed that Pulido’s surprise party was “breaking generational hurt with a kind and loving act.”
Many other comments also noted the power of undoing generational trauma.
“This generation got the guts our parents didn’t let us have,” said one comment. Someone else noticed, “He wanted to cry throughout the whole party. That means he was healing.”
An article from the American Counseling Association notes that people who experience generational trauma, or intergenerational trauma, inherit "a collection of traumas that have been experienced by their ancestors, passed down, and it’s affecting them to this day."
The article also acknowledges that generational trauma is complex and nuanced. It “can be a biological thing, an emotional thing, a social thing... Trauma changes our chemistry; it can change how we interact with other people... who we are and even our gene expressions.”
Pulido posted a follow-up video, featuring her uncle as he stood before his cake. She left a comment about her own high level of emotion throughout the party, stating, “I was holding back tears the whole time.”
Pulido’s post shows the power of even the smallest gesture. In a society where men are so often told to be stoic and unemotional, the joy and appreciation that her uncle exhibits during his surprise party is a welcome show of emotion.
Pulido’s surprise party for her uncle was an example of how family can come together, how instituting small changes makes a world of difference, and how much strength can be gleaned from an act of joy.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers parenting issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.