UPS-Obsessed Toddler Has The Best Birthday Ever

No one will ever love anything as purely as toddlers love something totally random.

For Connor Winkler of Norfolk, Virginia, that fierce obsession is UPS, the courier service.

“We got him big books with trucks and he can name nearly every type, but his main interest became delivery trucks,” his mom Jess Winkler told HuffPost Canada.

“When we’d take our walks, it would make his day if we saw a delivery truck that honked at him as he waved. I’m not sure if the UPS trucks tended to be the guys that honked at him most, but they soon became his favourite! He’d see a ‘bwown delilaly truck’ and then talk about it all day.”

Naturally, when his second birthday came around last week, his whole family got in on the UPS craze. His grandparents got him a teeny UPS outfit, and his aunt and uncle gave him UPS pyjamas.

But those outfits weren’t the whole surprise.

His parents had ordered a package that was delivered via UPS a few days before Connor’s birthday. Connor got super excited, naturally, so his parents took him outside to see the truck. They started chatting with the driver, Joe, and mentioned that Connor’s birthday was coming up in a few days. If by chance someone would be available to come by and honk, it would make Connor’s day, they said.

Joe did more than that. On Connor’s birthday, he drove to their house, honking and yelling, “Happy birthday, Connor!”

“Connor ran out of our house and was stunned,” his mom said. “At first, he was frozen and in awe.”

Joe hopped out of the truck with balloons and a gift — a UPS visor and vest.

Connor’s shock quickly turned to glee, Jess said. “He was thrilled! He kept looking back and forth between me and [his dad] in what appeared to be total disbelief! He was so happy!”

Spring birthdays are celebrated a little differently this year than others, what with the global pandemic and all. But it’s nice to see how much generosity and creativity went into getting wee Connor the best birthday he could hope for.

Jess later found out that Joe’s supervisor had helped plan the surprise. She’s really moved by how much effort they were willing to put in to make her son’s day special, especially given how the pandemic has increased pressure on delivery workers.

“We know that these guys are all working overtime due to COVID,” she said. “But the fact that they spent the time to make a two year old’s birthday special was unbelievably kind.”

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