I had an interesting day. Sean and Timothy are sick, Samantha is borderline. I was up most of the night with Timothy, and really just wanted to stay home with him. But Sean told me I had to go to church, and he’d stay home with The Boy.

I thought everyone forgot my birthday, because Pastor Gampon shares my b’day, and they made a big deal of him during church. Then I had to leave church early to go home to nurse Timmy. Nong told me I couldn’t leave yet, and then showed me the awesome b’day cake Mirjam had made for me – chocolate chip cake, with chocolate/white chocolate smothered all over it (not icing, but real chocolate). I told her I’d be back for lunch.

Being such a special day, they had made Tom Yum Gung/Talay (Spicy Shrimp & Seafood Soup) and Laab Nuea (Spicy Minced Beef). YUM!!! My taste buds were in Thai Food Heaven!  I was enjoying the food so much, that I didn’t hear Boonme when he asked me to come up front, nor did I see the birthday cake with the candles. How many times they called my name, I don’t know.

We all sang happy birthday (Gampon and I sang it to each other), and then they gave me mandatory birthday fruit basket. Guess what I ate first. The Thai Mango. Another symphony for my taste buds.

David, Hannah and I sat around for about 2 hours sharing stories, until finally Gampon told Hannah it was time to go. I think we could have sat there all day.

I came home and crashed for a few hours. Ellen took Samantha out to buy gifts and our birthday dinner. Samantha ran through the mall selecting gifts for Mummy and Daddy (it’s Birthday week at the Sanborns), and also little cupcakes for her eating pleasure. Perhaps she had heard me speaking of heavenly symphonies, and decided she liked the sound of that.

Regarding the cakes. Do you remember the movie Finding Nemo? Think of the scene when Nemo is playing dead in the hopes of escaping the clutches of the bratty Darla. Remember how she shakes the bag and says, “Wake up fishy. Wake up.” That’s what Samantha did with the cup cakes.

Ellen (Nana) helped Samantha put the candles on the cup cakes and as she sang Happy Birthday to us, she helped blow out the candles. Because, as she told me in church this morning, “It’s my birthday, too, Mummy.”