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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – Mary Lucas was shocked on May 2 when what she thought was a drive-by play date for her daughter turned into a surprise drive-by baby shower for her.

“My friend Jessica Collins told me that she was going to bring her daughter for a drive-by play date, which has become a common thing since this epidemic started,” Lucas said. “I didn’t know what was happening at first, but then I started seeing cars that I knew and I immediately started bawling.”

Collins, who organized the event, has known Lucas for several years. She said the two met through church where they and their children became friends.

“We’ve just been through a lot together, and I knew that with the pandemic and because it was her third baby they might not do anything,” Collins said. “We just wanted to help her with the diapers and make her feel like she’s not alone and special since she is about to have her baby.”

Around a dozen cars with family and friends drove through her neighborhood with signs on their cars celebrating her coming child. All of the participants also brought her gifts which they gave from a safe distance.

Lucas’s daughter is in the Girl Scouts and she helps with events for them, so she was even more excited to see some of the girls from her daughter’s troop there to celebrate too.

“This was our third kid and we don’t even know the gender, and I didn’t really expect anything at all especially with being pregnant and having a baby in such a strange time,” Lucas said. “I was truly shocked and astonished.”

This act of left a lasting impression on Lucas who said “This is one of the best memories I will ever have in my life.”