In the end, I decided on staying here in Saigon without having any expectations - no plans to celebrate, no announcement of my birthday. I even decided not to mention it to T to see if he'd remember.
I guess when you are not expecting anything, everything comes as a surprise.
Ok... so I had some expectations... For example, I expected to do something at least and I made matching outfits for Ray and I for this special occasion.
As such, I asked Rachel if we could join her and the family (Juergen's parents and 2 boys are visiting from Germany), order in lunch, get a cake so the boys can have fun singing "happy birthday" etc.
My birthday is no longer about me but about Rayhan having a good time - and what is more fun than being with our closest friends here and enjoying a day at the pool.
Juergen's 2 boys paid me the greatest compliment when they asked their dad if I was Rayhan's sister!
In the middle of the fun, Emile called and told me the Neighbors have prepared a surprise for me so I hopped onto a xe om and rushed back (leaving Ray behind with his friends).
It was really sweet. Emile had cooked lunch for everyone and they had bought me flowers and a cake!
There was Thao, Pierre and Jenny (from Level 1), Lidia and her kids (from Level 4) and Emile and I (Level 5). We had all gone out last night to party and it was funny all coming home together to the same building.
After lunch, I rushed back to Rachel's. I was wishing the whole time that Rayhan was with me to enjoy the cake cutting but Rachel had also prepared a cake for me.
Cake No.2
I let the boys cut the birthday cake...
The husband hadn't really planned anything except to take us out to dinner. (He says that we'll party on Friday with the friends).
We finally decided on Trois Gourmand where we had our Valentine's day dinner (or was it anniversary dinner?). Food there is fabulous but I was afraid Rayhan wouldn't have the patience to sit through (French cuisine take hours!)
But he was rather well behaved and sat through until the final 15 mins
As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, T excused himself and disappeared. I was left sitting there with Ray like an idiot. He finally returned with a bouquet of flowers.
And that is the end of my Birth-Day - Thank you every one for the well-wishes, the Facebook messages, the phone calls ... Most of all, thank you for the love!
PS: It's an hour to the end of my birthday - We are in bed, Ray is watching a DVD and the husband is already snoring away. Bye Bye Birthday - See you next year!
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