Happy Birthday Mom

Now I know that here in Singapore it is October 28th, but thankfully time zones are a beautiful thing, and so therefore we can celebrate my Mom's birthday for more than 24 hours when we do so as a family. Me here in Singapore and her and my Dad back in Oregon, which is a mere 15 time zones away.

This specific October 27th comes as a special crowning achievement for my Mom. Indeed it marks another wonderful year, but it also serves as a book-end to an amazing journey that she and my Dad have just completed. The two of them have just concluded a tour through China over the last 15 days. A totally new country, new culture, surely new driving habits, but obviously a new experience that marked a dizzying number of firsts for my parents.

My Mom marks this special birthday having recently scaled the Great Wall of China, sipped the teas of Hangzhou, gazed upon the futuristic skyline of Shanghai, walked through Tianamen Square in Beijing, invaded the Forbidden City, floated by boat to the Summer Palace, rolled to the Temple of Heaven, and savored the dumplings of Dalian just to name a few. Not bad for a small-town girl from Maupin, Oregon, with a population of 412 people, which is just a tad different from the cities in China that usually average just about that same number of people on one city bus.

The photo above shows how we celebrated Mom's early birthday together as a family with a Chinese candle atop of a nice piece of dessert which we all shared. There was no traditional blowing out of this kind of candle without the risk of singeing one's eyebrows, so we all enjoyed the show of sparks until it was out. Once again a new experience, but one my Mom took in-stride and enjoyed as well.

So as the 27th of October winds to a close this day back in Oregon, I wanted to wish my Mom a very special birthday and tell her that I am so proud of all that she accomplished on her recent trip to China. Happy Birthday Mom!