58th Birthday

Both my and my wife's birthdays are in February. So we have developed a tradition of celebrating our birthdays together on the same day, normally after 25th, in the month since our marriage. I can not remember as start from which year exactly have my children begun to remind me of our birthday celebration. But as far as I can remember that since 2006 when our daughter, Tessie, secured a full time job and our son, Chenny, was able to earn for his own spending while studying in the university, they began to take us out for a family lunch in a restaurant.

This year when our birthdays drew near, Chenny initiated this topic at a dinner conversation at home. He asked me how would I and my wife plan for our birthdays. As usual, we used of this opportunity trying to convert him into believing that one should be commemorating ones mother for the suffering she bore in the labor but not delving into activities designed for ones own joy on their birthday. This time he patiently listened the whole lecture without any dispute as he always did before. I said to my wife later on that our son was more matured this year. We also concluded that our children expected us to be aware of the arrival of our birthdays and plan some special activities for ourselves. That meant they were very care about us!

So on 23rd, a Monday, when we were supposed to attend in the weekly Buddhist meditation session in Greenlane, we decided to add something special to our usual transportation, normally by bus to and back, by train, and ferry boat for this time.

After we arrived at city, we normally changed to ride on another bus heading for Greenlane, but that day we hopped on a train instead. I had never got a chance to ride a train in the past 17 years since we moved to New Zealand. So we felt like a child traveling by train for the first time. I took a photo of my wife in the carriage. I saw her smiling all the way through out the trip.

On the way back after the group meditation session in the Buddhist meeting, we explored the Ferry Terminal Building in the city for the first time again since we have moved to New Zealand. It was full of shops and tourists.

I checked the timetable for a ferry heading for Devonport where we can have a relaxing stride along the beach and enjoy the peaceful reminiscent atmosphere of the small town. I had travelled by ferry to small islands for a couple of times before, but this was the first time I rode it from city to Devonport. So it was my another first time experience.

It was two O'clockish when we arrived Devonport. There the sea view, flying sea gulls, tourists and the shops created a peaceful relaxing picture that made you sleepy. We enjoyed ourselves there for an hour and then took a bus home. I thought to myself that the simple but joyful tour we had that day had somehow fulfilled Chenny's wish of seeing us to do something special to celebrate our birthdays.

In the following week, first saw Tessie's e-mail asking if we would be interested in watching an opera show called "My Fair Lady". She would buy the ticket costing $74 - 100 each for us as birthday gift if we said yes. Astonished by her generosity but we replied saying we preferred a family lunch at Daikoku Restaurant on the weekend.

Early in the morning of my birthday I received a text message in my mobile phone from Chenny wishing me a happy one.

So we had a lovely family lunch there. Chenny brought his girlfriend Lily along. We shot a few photos in the restaurant to mark our birthday celebration of 2009.

Our 58th birthday is indeed an unforgettable one. The fact that children will grow; we will get old; nothing material remains unchanged permanently; and etc of thoughts rise and sink in my mind on that day. The force that drove me to write this post was the feeling of delight in receiving the return feed from my children.