Throughout the world, celebrating one's birthday is universal. It is the time in one's life to look back at the past year and the realization that he/she is one year older. There are the usual presents to the honoree, a birthday cake, homemade or ordered from a bake shop, family and friends wishing the honoree well, the singing of "Happy Birthday to you..." as the candles are blown, each guest eagerly waiting to be served a slice of the cake.
My wife and I, together with our youngest son and our lady friend, drove to Austin on a Saturday morning to join in the celebration of a friend's 67th birthday. We were rather early, but we were invited to lunch, and our idea of lunch was at 12ish, but I learned later from the invited guests (most of whom were originally from Mexico who work with our friend's wife), that lunch to them would be about 3:00 p.m.
Before we left Waco, my middle son arrived to spend the weekend at home. He needed to have a tomato costume sewn by his mother. Since we knew he had to wake up early and skip breakfast to catch us up before we left, his mother put a homemade lasagna prepared by a good friend, in the oven to bake in the oven. He was reminded to check the oven in an hour. His mother left the phone to him as he laid down on the couch to go back to sleep.
We were passing through Georgetown, and since it had been an hour since the lasagna was put in the oven, my wife started to call our son to check the oven. He did not answer. His mother dialed the home number once, twice, thrice...ten times, but there was no answer. She began to panic. She was so angered by our sons failure to pick up the phone. She thought of calling 911. What if the lasagna was burnt, the house was in smoke, and our son passed out due to smoke inhalation? Or could there have been a break-in, and something happened to our son? I discouraged her to call 911, but suggested that she called our friend to call Kevin. She did, and asked her if she would she please go to the house and check on Kevin? My wife, our youngest son, and our friend took turns calling the house and our son's cell phone at closer intervals.
Then we got a call from home. It was our son! He was safe! It turned out that he was in a deep sleep. Thanks to our friend who drove to our home to wake him up. The lasagna was burnt. My wife expressed her disappointment about our sons irresponsible behavior. There's no use crying over burnt lasagna, but she wanted to vent out how she felt which went on a little while more when we got home. Her reaction was only natural for a mother like her.
At the birthday party, we met teachers who came from Mexico to take teaching jobs in the Austin area. We found a common thread --- the fact that we were immigrants all involved in the education of American children, going through similar challenges.We encouraged one another to meet every challenge. We shared one another's experiences,
discovered the commonality of our cultures, since our countries were under the Spanish rule.
The perfect hosts that they were, our couple friends served a medley of traditional Filipino foods--- "dinuguan" (chocolate meat), menudo, chicken and pork adobo,roasted pork, kare-kare (oxtail stew in peanut sauce), biko (sticky rice with caramel topping), embutido, etc. A Pinoy birthday party is not complete without pansit, rice noodles. The long noodle strings denote long life for the celebrant. There were three birthday cakes, sticky rice with caramelized sugar topping, and "fruta de leche".
Of course, there was beef brisket (that's the American part of the menu, in addition to the cakes).
The fellowship of the hosts and the guests was very satisfying, not to mention the food that catered to our appetite. This was not the time to think about calories. Neither was it the time to think of our health conditions. We could do that after this one feast. It was the time to indulge. In the food. In the fellowship.
Our best wishes to Manong Alvy on his birthday.
Lord, we thank You for our friends. Bless and keep them, these special persons You created and filled with qualities that have meant so much to us. Thank You for all the times we've shared. Bless our friendship. Amen.
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