30th Birthday :)

So, last Monday was my 30th birthday! Honestly, I had mixed feeling facing this milestone because well, being 30 means I am ticking the other age box from now on HAHA. This year, however, I decide to do something different, not only because it is a big milestone, but it is also a public holiday here in Melbourne! (It is the Labour Day holiday and this year falls nicely on 8th March 😋) 

YES, this is my 30th birthday party invitation! I use Canva to design and man, I love this software because there are so many templates and I simply edit the image and send it to my friends. Due to the Covid restriction, we are allowed to have maximum 30 guests gathered indoor so I invited mostly my Bible study life group members and turn out, all of them can make it! It really makes my day 😊I also invited my university friends so in total, about 21 of them RSVP-ed and said that they can attend! 

D - Day

I think most readers probably see my pictures shared in social media that I look so happy with the balloons and decoration. Well, it wasn't all pretty roses from the start though 😓

Morph and I plan the birthday party together and so we decided to have the party at the lounge and BBQ area in our apartment since it is indoor and quite spacious. (Thank God for that too since at first we thought of doing it outdoor in a park. It was raining on the day!). I booked it in advance and confirmed with the concierge that I have about 25 guests coming. She said it is okay since it is within the government restriction and helped me to book it in.

All pictures are taken from the lounge area!

I woke up pretty early since I was quite excited and started to dress myself up 😂 Morph went out to pick up the cake and I went to pick up the food from the lobby since the caterer called me around 1215pm and said that he was here with the food. I went down to lobby to meet with the caterer and told the concierge I needed the key to access the lounge area that I have already booked weeks ago. All seem well until.......................................

The lady in the concierge (different lady than the one I booked with) looked at me with surprise when she heard I have 25 guests and told me IT IS NOT ALLOWED 😱

I looked at her with disbelief and told her the booking was made weeks ago and I confirmed with the other lady saying I have 25 guests and she said it is okay. Can you imagine how I felt that time? I was actually on the verge of crying at that point. She said she needs to make a call to the building manager and I have to wait for her while she confirms. I told her it is my birthday with an almost-crying voice and said I can't cancel the birthday party because my friends are almost here in the next 30 minutes 😭

This is my face literally 😭

I called Morph while she was on the phone and asked him what should I do. At that point, she put down her phone and I approached her. She looked at me and said it is okay but I will need to adhere to Covid rules and etc. I said that is okay and I understand, but let me have the party! She passed me the key finally and well, I wanted to say I was overjoyed at that time but I wasn't. I felt really upset after all these happening. 

BUT WELL...

Thankfully the mood did not last long. My friends slowly arrived and their presence somehow made all these easier to bear. I complaint to them la of course about my awful experience and they listened and shared my pain LOL. One of my friends said I should scold her for ruining my day because I did confirm early with even face-to-face booking. But well, if you know me, I think I will cry instead of scolding people HAHA. I really just thank God that the party can go on because it will be such a bummer if things are to change. 

We started at 1pm with delicious catered Malaysian food (YES to satay, ondeh-ondeh and curry puffs, so YUM!) after a brief introduction from everyone and a short prayer. Everyone said their heartfelt Happy Birthday to me and passed me their gifts when I already said they need not to bring anything for the party. I don't know why but I can feel my eyes are teary after receiving so many warm wishes from everyone.

All the gifts from everyone. Thank you!!

I joined in some conversation and everyone seems to really enjoy chatting and catching up with one another in person. After all, it is not that easy during the past one year when we did our life group session since it was always on Zoom. Finally, we can meet in person and I know for sure that we all appreciate these face-to-face moments that we can just chat and connect with one another.

 

And it makes me happy. My little heart felt so full seeing all the happy smiles and hospitality everywhere. To be honest, the birthday party is not just for me. Well, in a way I organize it to celebrate my big milestone, but I hope to use this opportunity so that all of us can meet face-to-face, to fellowship with one another and to not give up in meeting up with one another. Though we might not know each other for as long as we want and we all come from different work and background, I think it is a very beautiful community that we have and I really want to share it with everyone that I know 💓

Cake Cutting TIME!

We started our cake-cutting session shortly after. Guess what, it is a FERRORO ROCHER ice cream cake! I love chocolate so I was really happy to see the cake. And it was really a very funny cake-cutting session because our nephew tried to blow the candles from afar. Morph also took out the candles from the cake because he said it was the Covidsafe way of blowing candles haha.  

A special treat for my readers to see what goes down that day: 

And I really want to keep it here to remind me of the blessed moment I felt that day - everything from the birthday song, the hooray, the kiss, the cake and so so many friends who surround me with so much loves 💓  More pictures here!

HEHEHEE

THOUGHTS..

Well, I usually end my post with my thoughts and this post is no exception. I don't know how to describe the feeling actually but how the whole day goes down was full of beautiful moment. I had video calls with my family and friends later that night until 12am, and not forgetting many many wishes on Facebook and Instagram. Of course this year also marks the special year that my husband left a post for me since his last FB post which was 5 years ago. And that, marks the end of my teasing to him: why I don't have a single special post from you har. Well, I cannot say that for the next 5 years at least HAHA.

But I will probably say something cliche,

Thank you everyone, not just for your birthday wishes, but for being part of this journey with me.

For the past 30 years, well at least when I am grown up enough to start remembering, I always feel myself very much loved. My life experiences are what made me, ME and I just want to say a big thank you for everyone because you are part of the journey. The past memories, the time we spent, bitter or sweet, are part of me that made me cheerful, smiling, crying, grateful and blessed. It is not always rainbow (just like what I experienced even on my birthday), but in the end, I always give thanks because I feel very much blessed, because I am not alone.

I thank God for you, and I thank God for Jesus. I thank God that He has sent me so many kind and lovely people to my life, and I thank God for Jesus because no matter what happens, I know He is with me.

It is indeed a beautiful birthday. Happy 30th Birthday to me!

~ With so much loves, Susan