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Home > Liberty Tower Room 57 |
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Happy Birthday
“Where shall we dine on your birthday? We should have a dinner somewhere you want, and not in the senior apartment!” but my wife said no to that. “We should just have the dinner that is prepared from the senior apartment, since it is my first birthday here.” This was the conversation I had with my wife early June.
In the senior apartment I reside every month, there is a list of those who are celebrating their birthday of the month. Towards the middle of that month on a Friday evening, those who have their birthday on the specific month gather in a large table with family and friends to celebrate.
The usual time for dinner is around 5PM and 6:15PM but those who celebrate their birthday, it is from 4PM~6PM. Of course, every person is expected to pay for dinner as a duty along with monthly rent fee.
My wife wanted to have dinner in the senior apartment, and that decision was made the night before the birthday party. Around 9PM we had to go somewhere and passing the dining hall, we were able to see that the decoration was done with so much care. One side of the wall has “Happy Birthday” along with colorful tape decoration and balloons. Around the center table, there is a chandelier with many decorative balloons! Even the desk is decorated with flowers… It was so beautiful so I took a picture of it. To celebrate my wife’s birthday, I would probably go to a Korean restaurant and have whatever she wants. Then head back home. I thought it would be better to stay here and dine somewhere decorated so well.
Those who are celebrating their birthday is announced to come 15 minutes earlier, so when I arrived on time, my wife’s and my name was on the table. Just like a fancy restaurant, napkins, spoons, forks are all prepared clean. I felt so good. Those who are celebrating birthday are first to go to the buffet area. All the kitchen staff kindly gave food. On top of that, towards the end of the meal, those who are celebrating their birthday are given a rose by the manager with smiles. I thought it was something to commemorate and took a picture of it.
There is a swimming pool opening every week except Sundays in Santa Clara. There is much more activities around the pool because the Jacuzzi finally got fixed. It was broken and had been shut down for many months. Yesterday, that is the 18th of July I saw an interesting birthday party happening in the pool while I was sitting in the warm water swimming pool. A woman comes in hurriedly to look for someone. I know that woman because I see her from exercising daily. Her friends asked who she was looking for and she replied “I don’t know her name, but her birthday was yesterday and want to celebrate for her.”
The woman she is looking for turns out escaped from Vietnam long time ago from a conversation we had about a month ago. Her husband was a government employee and was in prison for 6 years. Her husband had suffered severe punishment and is deaf from it. After coming out of prison, he had moved to United States to reunited with his family, but had hard time adjusting to the life in United States because he cannot hear. When I told her that I had participated in the Vietnamese War, she talks about her family. She is a very kind and outgoing woman. She tells me she still works, and told me of her story starting as a cleaner and working her way up to her current stable job.
After the woman had finished her exercise and left, the person came in, wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. I didn’t exactly know her name, but someone who knew her name said it was Lisa. When her name was told, someone went quickly to the shower room. Lisa who just had came back from shower in her swimming suit, came with a curious look.
The woman who had prepared the surprise opened her bag, and pulled out a plastic cake and several balloons for her friends to hold. Along with some sort of fan like object, and party hats for everyone to wear, Lisa had a well decorated crown for her to wear. Everyone sang happy birthday, and took pictures together. Because I was in the warm swimming pool, I couldn’t join directly. But I was happy to see that event unfold this morning.
It is so beautiful to see that someone would remember a birthday in just passing. I’m not really sure those items she brought was hers, or borrowed, but it was such a valuable time. Her heart is warm and kind. Seeing that she didn’t really know her name, she isn’t a close friend. Lisa celebrating the birthday usually talks with the distinct Vietnamese accent and does her exercises. I think the Lisa, who is celebrating birthday must have been surprised to see this happen.
I learned a lot from this small event. It’s not the biggest things that move a person, but even the smallest of things can move a person. Having forced to move to United States, and her husband having become silent, from the pain of moving, the party was to encourage her, and seeing them singing happy birthday, I can only follow and be excited to see.
(June 2011)
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