The Parents gifted me a bagful of Chupa Chups this year.
No special reason, other than the fact that they thought cola and strawberry cream lollipops were just what I needed for more sugar, sweetness and fun vibes.
They also gifted me a box of chocolates.
I was encouraged to see them as therapy, they said. Every time I unwrapped the gold foil and ate through the different layers of chocolate, I was to be reminded that Life was not meant to be rushed through, hurried about or gobbled. It was meant to be savoured, experienced, and appreciated.
I suppose it is only The Parents who can turn Fun, Lively presents for your birthday into Life Lessons for you.
Not that I minded it one bit at all.
It simply showed just how much they had been listening to me (and all my lamentations) over the course of the entire year, and just how much they wanted to do something about it for me.
I have never been one for loud, boisterous parties with balloons, trays of party food and huge, frosted cakes.
In fact, for my whole life, save for the year that I turned twenty-one, I don't think I have had more than eight persons celebrating my birthday at the same place at the same time.
The gatherings have gotten quieter as the years have passed. These days, the way I do a birthday is to dwell happily amongst all the well wishes I receive from friends and loved ones, and enjoy whatever small intimate celebrations that come my way with them.
It was just The Parents and I this evening.
On the table there was a charming birthday cake, surrounded by little skewers of fluffy, pastel colored marshmallows. The cake was a butter pound cake, chosen by The Parents, who had once again decided that we would forgo the traditional, cream filled ones from the likes of Jack's Place and Bengawan Solo for this lighter, cream-less one.
On the table too was a dish filled to the brim with cherry tomatoes, honey tomatoes, fresh green lettuce, home made fish cakes and siew mais. These siew mais weren't the kind that you got from the dim sum places. These were the kind that you bought by the pack from the NTUC downstairs, brought back home, and steamed with the rice cooker.
They were exactly the kind of siew mais that I liked, and they were the kind that I had been particularly asking for.
And, the entire plate was mine.