April 28th was one of the best days of my life. April 28 was Aamaa's 89th birthday (Aamaa is Ambika's mom) and April 29th is Mother's Day in Nepal. And unlike in America where celebrating these events is fairly common, it's not as common in Nepal, at least not with the families we know.
Aamaa had NEVER had a birthday party in her entire life, nor had anyone ever celebrated Mother's Day honoring Aamaa, Ambika or either of Ambika's two sisters. That all changed on April 28th, as we all gathered together to celebrate both occassions.
The best part is that this was all a surprise for Aamaa! She had no idea that we were having a party for her, since Ambika's sisters often come by to visit and everyone else stayed hidden or showed up at the last minute.
When it was time for the festivities to begin, Ambika had Aamaa go up to the roof where we often eat dinner when the weather is nice, and when Aaama was sitting at the table, all of us came out and surrounded her. Sam was carrying her birthday cake and we "crowned" her with a "birthday topee" (birthday hat). As soon as she realized what was happening, she almost cried!
Then, as is the tradition here, she feeds someone a piece of birthday cake and they feed her a piece of birthday cake before everyone else gets a slice. Well, Aamaa chose Sam AND one of her sons-in-law, and as you can see she had LOTS of fun with this!
After the cake, we gave Aamaa her birthday card and a few small gifts... Snickers bars (she LOVES these) and some peanuts. You would have thought we had given her diamonds... and little did she know, there were more surprises to come.
I had talked with Anipa (Ambika's daughter) and arranged for one of Aamaa's grandsons to bring flowers for Aamaa, Ambika and her two sisters for Mother's Day. What I didn't know is that when Anipa called him, she also told him to bring flowers for me. As they started passing out the Mother's Day bouquets, I'm not sure who was more surprised, me, Aamaa or Ambika's middle sister, who kept turning away, completely unprepared for such a gift.
I had also bought a bunch of plastic tiaras, so that each mom could feel like a queen. I will never be able to put into words what I experienced watching these grown women, including 89-year-old Aamaa, being honored as mothers with flowers and plastic tiaras.
Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a meal of fried chicken, paneer (a kind of fried cheese that I am fairly certain is what the Bible calls manna, because it is nothing short of a gift from God!), some vegetables and rice that Ambika and her sisters had made (they thought this was just Aamaa's birthday celebration). As Sam and I left to go downstairs to our flat to go to sleep, I wished each of the moms a "Happy Mother's Day". Ambika told me, "Never in all of our lives have we done anything like this. This is a great day. "
Still, there was one more surprise awaiting Aamaa that only Sam, the girls and I knew about. The girls had blown up about a BUNCH of balloons and filled Aamaa's bedroom with them, along with a "Happy Birthday" sign hanging on her wall, so as she went into her room that night, she was again reminded that she is loved and her birthday is very much worth celebrating.
The next morning when I went upstairs to say "Hello" to everyone, Aamaa was all smiles. Apparently, after Sam and I went to sleep, everyone else kept partying. They strung the balloons together that were in Aamaa's room and hung them throughout the living room... and they are still hanging up 2 weeks later! Ambika's oldest sister and her husband, who normally leave somewhat early to get home to her husband's mom who lives with them, stayed until midnight and then had to stay the night because there were no buses to take them home at that hour!
It was truly a magical evening, and beyond just "our family" we were able to bring joy to several others. When I went to buy the plastic tiaras, the balloons and the candle for the birthday cake, there were some women in the shop. They asked me what I was buying all of this for. When I told them we were celebrating Mother's Day and Aamaa's birthday, they looked like little girls hearing the most wonderful secret they had ever heard. They laughed and smiled and were so excited at simply the thought of grown women celebrating in such a way.
Aamaa had NEVER had a birthday party in her entire life, nor had anyone ever celebrated Mother's Day honoring Aamaa, Ambika or either of Ambika's two sisters. That all changed on April 28th, as we all gathered together to celebrate both occassions.
The best part is that this was all a surprise for Aamaa! She had no idea that we were having a party for her, since Ambika's sisters often come by to visit and everyone else stayed hidden or showed up at the last minute.
When it was time for the festivities to begin, Ambika had Aamaa go up to the roof where we often eat dinner when the weather is nice, and when Aaama was sitting at the table, all of us came out and surrounded her. Sam was carrying her birthday cake and we "crowned" her with a "birthday topee" (birthday hat). As soon as she realized what was happening, she almost cried!
Then, as is the tradition here, she feeds someone a piece of birthday cake and they feed her a piece of birthday cake before everyone else gets a slice. Well, Aamaa chose Sam AND one of her sons-in-law, and as you can see she had LOTS of fun with this!I had talked with Anipa (Ambika's daughter) and arranged for one of Aamaa's grandsons to bring flowers for Aamaa, Ambika and her two sisters for Mother's Day. What I didn't know is that when Anipa called him, she also told him to bring flowers for me. As they started passing out the Mother's Day bouquets, I'm not sure who was more surprised, me, Aamaa or Ambika's middle sister, who kept turning away, completely unprepared for such a gift.
I had also bought a bunch of plastic tiaras, so that each mom could feel like a queen. I will never be able to put into words what I experienced watching these grown women, including 89-year-old Aamaa, being honored as mothers with flowers and plastic tiaras.
Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a meal of fried chicken, paneer (a kind of fried cheese that I am fairly certain is what the Bible calls manna, because it is nothing short of a gift from God!), some vegetables and rice that Ambika and her sisters had made (they thought this was just Aamaa's birthday celebration). As Sam and I left to go downstairs to our flat to go to sleep, I wished each of the moms a "Happy Mother's Day". Ambika told me, "Never in all of our lives have we done anything like this. This is a great day. "
Still, there was one more surprise awaiting Aamaa that only Sam, the girls and I knew about. The girls had blown up about a BUNCH of balloons and filled Aamaa's bedroom with them, along with a "Happy Birthday" sign hanging on her wall, so as she went into her room that night, she was again reminded that she is loved and her birthday is very much worth celebrating.
It was truly a magical evening, and beyond just "our family" we were able to bring joy to several others. When I went to buy the plastic tiaras, the balloons and the candle for the birthday cake, there were some women in the shop. They asked me what I was buying all of this for. When I told them we were celebrating Mother's Day and Aamaa's birthday, they looked like little girls hearing the most wonderful secret they had ever heard. They laughed and smiled and were so excited at simply the thought of grown women celebrating in such a way.
Happy Mother's Day from Nepal!
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