End of September now, so no better time than to write about Hedgehog's birthday celebration that took place in July this year.
I wont' say I have mixed feelings about his birthday celebration this year.
But I will say that I had thought about our celebration last year, and the difference between this year and the last.
But every birthday is a meaningful one.
Every birthday, whatever life is, holds a quiet significance, and is meant to be loved, meant to be shared, meant to be wished.
I'd have loved to share more, to contribute more, to gift something meaningful even.
But we share stuff, Hedgehog and I, and so I was glad to go along with anything and everything he wanted.
Including his annual birthday card.
One of the things we always like to do when it comes to birthdays is the food.
We always aim to go for foods that the birthday person likes, foods that mean something to us, foods that mean something to the birthday one.
So the birthday lineup this year included rosti, zichar, pizza, Thai, and dim sum.
I'm not surprised by the pizza and the rosti.
I'm also not surprised by the Thai and the dim sum.
I am, however, surprised by the zichar.
Because whilst I know Hedgehog loves his pizzas and his rostis and his ice creams and his dim sums, he's never been a super huge fan of zichar dishes, save for Beef Black Pepper Rice, Venison Black Pepper Rice, and Yi Mian.
So, trust me, I got really surprised when at a zichar place in Toa Payoh he ordered these.
It would be no surprise to me if he had chosen a few rounds of pizzas and rostis over these, especially if the rostis are big and nice and crispy and come served with smoked salmon, or if the pizza has that kind of keto keto feel with a crust made of sourdough layered with one raw egg and parma ham on top.
It would also be no surprise to me if he had chosen just the Yi Mian at the stall- that's what he's familiar with and that's what he likes.
But to have a plate of sweet and sour pork (?) chicken (?), to have a plate of crispy cube-shaped tofu, and another plate of salted egg chicken?
That's triply cool.
I am thankful to have shared all these foods with Hedgehog.
They make the celebration so much more meaningful.
Whether it be the dessert from Tuk Tuk Cha, whether it be the dim sum from Swatow Seafood, or whether it be the memorable chicken wings from the pizza place in Serangoon Avenue 3, I'm thankful.
Beyond the food is the companionship that we share, beyond the companionship is the understanding that we have of each other, what one likes, what one doesn't like, what memories are there, what memories are not.
It is this that makes the relationship special.
It is this that makes every meal big or small or frequent or unique, precious and treasured and special.
There can be times when you share a bowl of noodles with someone and it feels overwhelming, torturous, unloved, sadistic, maniacal.
But blessed are the times when, whatever they might be, you give each other a forkful more of potato rosti, the last slice of smoked salmon, have fluffy char siew paus one each, or pick out deep fried dim sum.
That's what makes the birthday a joy to have, a celebration, a presence of which both are thankful for each other.