March 1, 2019, was my mother’s 70th birthday. The four of my siblings took each role and made full preparations for her wonderful and memorable birthday party. And the day before her birthday, we all gathered at the appointed place. We were 18 in total including my parents, oldest brother’s family of five, older sister’s family of four, older brother’s family of six, and me. My oldest brother had booked the accommodation for the whole family to stay overnight.
That day, the first part of the event began with the opening address of my older brother in the restaurant of the accommodation. As an emcee of the event, he handed out the leaflets on the event orders and held the microphone. First, my father congratulated her birthday as a representative, saying, “You have done an excellent job so far.” Though it was short, we were moved as it seemed to contain many meanings. After that, we sang a birthday song together and delivered a plaque of appreciation to Mom. As the person in charge of producing the plaque, I had struggled to make inspirational phrases. But I was proud to see Mom happy. We talked, laughing loudly, ate a meal, went for a walk, and came back to the accommodation.
We set up a stage with a celebration placard and installed the projector to play a video, and we led our parents to attend. The second part of the event started with talent shows of their grandchildren. The children delighted their grandma by playing the piano and violin, performing taekwondo, and singing songs. They also hugged their grandma to pop balloons which contained letters to Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone was so passionate in performance that the stage seemed narrow. The second part of the event was concluded by singing “Parents’ Love” and we all watched a video with refreshments. My older brother prepared a 10-minute video that consisted of photos showing the passage of time; my parents in their youth, their marriage, our childhood days and the process of having families and raising children, and lastly a video letter from each family to our parents. That concluded the event.
My mother said that it was the happiest day in her lifetime, convinced that she was the only person who had a 70th birthday party that happily. She must have been greatly pleased to have the party with all her four children and grandchildren together in one place. Even my father, who rarely says what’s on his mind, said with satisfaction, “Thank you for your great effort.” We too were glad to see our parents happy.
Since then, Mom continued happy days, boasting about her birthday party to the people around her. The album made of photographs taken at the party became another gift for my mom who wanted to keep the memories of her birthday vivid. The appreciation plaque is now placed in the most conspicuous place at home and she often reads it.
“How can we please Mom?”
As the four of us put our heads together to prepare for the event, the process was smooth. Sometimes, we were disappointed as it didn’t go well as we had planned, but we encouraged and comforted each other without any reprimand. Because we became one in mind, we could bring great joy to our parents. Not only our parents but we will never forget that happy day, either.