I think back to some of the birthday parties we've had. They always seemed to be very simplistic. Everyone would crowd around one small computer as I played the game. We would also have played with the copious amounts of toys I owned, then somehow eat cake, open presents then perform a piano piece to everyone. The kids that went always seemed to be my age. Some younger, some older; we would all get along and played together well. The party always easily lasted till the wee hours of the night (meaning 11ish), and they were always filled with memories and fun. I look at the last party today: true there were a lot of adults; however this party was different. All of these "kids" have grown up, we no longer played with toys, we no longer gathered around one small computer. We used to hid under a long-sold ping-pong table and lay the confessions of our crush; replaced by the socialization of education, sports and video games. We all bind together by playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The friends I once looked up to are all gone, all dispersed into their personal college, studying their thing. You get a nostalgic feeling when you think back to those days. Just like I do, and you know that this will never happen again once you, too, leave for college.
As I went around, talking to the adults, I realize that I am no longer a kid. The people are talk to are no longer the young adults I've always played with; they are becoming old, yet each one has their piece to share. I think keenly to my grandmother and my grandfather. Just 6 years ago, they lived with us, I would see them everyday and to be honest, I sometimes got sick of them. But, in a blink of an eye, they moved out into a senior home. Last year, they seemed to still be their healthy, cheery self. But this year, you can finally see the toll age has on the body. My grandfather had a severe stroke when he was doing a surgery for his cholostrel. He is a completely different person. The once sociable, keen minded, happy grandpa changed into a quiet, slow reacting grandfather. His confidence, once grand, is now just a whisp of what he had before. My grandmother, a very strong woman, has become frail; apart from taking out her real teeth and getting dentures, she has lost tons of weight do to her inability to eat; making her look very sickly. As they leave back home to my aunt's house, they give me a card. As it is in Chinese, I ask my mother to read it. It said something like this:
To our dearest grandson Max:
We wish you a happy birthday. 18 is a year full of excitement and joy. You will have lots of fun, and we hope that you will have lots of fun, with going to college. It is said that 18 is a time where you grow the most, and you are the strongest and best at what you do, so take the chances to do what you need. We wish you the best with whatever you do.
Your grandparents who love you so much
Grandma, Grandpa.
As I read this note, I realize how much my grandparents loved me. The direct translation would be "we love you so much, that we would go through pain to express how much we love you". It makes me realize how much they have gone through to raise me. What they have done to raise me. And, I feel sad with the amount of time we really have together. Because once I go to college, I will not be able to communicate with them very easily.
This is all symbolic to my last Asian Birthday Party. It is a time where I remember all the happiness I've had before, yet it is another symbol for moving on. I will miss everyone so dearly once I leave, but I know that they will always be in my heart and remember me. I hope to my friends in college, that one day we will be able to meet at another Asian Birthday Party, where we can experience all the things we have experienced once before. I sometimes wish that I could relive the past, but I realize that the best experiences are those that are buried within our memories.
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