Mommy's 60th -- the morning of

My mommy turned 60 this past weekend. Or so, we think. I guess birth certificates either weren't issued or just weren't important to poor families such as mine. And, she was the youngest of many children so Grandma was kind of fuzzy on the date/year too. More important concerns included figuring out how to feed that new mouth. Grandma did what she could. I suppose, when your family is hungry, actual dates aren't as important as the successful passing of time.

So, when mom succeeded in getting older, she picked a birthdate based on what my Grandmother THOUGHT was the birthdate. And of course, that birthdate was in accordance to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. But then, she had to pick ANOTHER birthdate according to the Gregorian calendar for pesky items such as an American social security number and a driver's license. It is reasonably close to her Chinese one, which shifts around from year to year. The Gregorian is the one we celebrated.

Apparently I am not a good daughter because not only did Jenny have to tell me it was mom's birthday this past weekend, I had no clue she was turning 60. :(

So, morning of, Sergio and I showed up with a big bunch of flowers, singing happy birthday through her bedroom window, and she seemed quite happy.



We then treated her to a fine dim sum meal in San Gabriel.



That afternoon, I picked up a chocolate cake with fresh strawberries from Ruby Bakery for later that night. (Walking in, I noticed a fresh mango cake announcement. Hmm...may have to order one of those for a future gathering...) Jenny was to get the mint n' chip ice cream that Mom loves. You know, the cheap green kind with tiny chocolate flecks. The best kind!

I insisted she tell us what kind of food she wanted for dinner. There has been way too many instances where we plan this new food experience for her, and she just isn't into it. She pick the type of food, Jenny and I would pick the restaurant. She wanted Sushi! (Dad grimaced but sucked it up because it was his wife's birthday.)

It was tough for us to choose a dinner restaurant because she hates to go to fancy places -- she doesn't like the fancy prices -- but we wanted to make sure she was treated special for the special lady that she is.

Yoshida (closed for the day), Kabuki (too trendy and loud), Ichiban (I refused), Thousand Cranes (way too fancy and closed for the day I realize now), Aoba (I refused too)...wait! Sergio and I suddenly remembered the place we like to go to when we feel like a nice night out for sushi: Japon Bistro!

More tomorrow!