This is a special post for me as it relates to a special moment, the celebration of my dad’s birthday (a week early as he was in town for the weekend) and also of his “new” life.
This year is extra special for me and my family. My dad had a kidney transplant on 10 December 2012 after years of waiting. This meant a new life for my dad and extreme joy for us. He is not only healthy (no more dialysis!), but also a much happier person that doesn’t take life for granted. I am so thankful to have him with me today and enjoy every moment we have together.
As you can imagine, celebrating was a must. All the family gathered for a big Mexican lunch, at P.F. Changs…, to say happy birthday to dad and enjoy a meal together. The celebration was a success as dad was very happy, which made me even happier. We sang “las mananitas” (happy birthday) for him as he blew the candle out on his first of two cakes.
Family gatherings are getting bigger and bigger every year – and there are Trevinos missing here too
After lunch we all went to my cousin Gabriel’s house to enjoy cake number two and sing happy birthday both in Spanish and English this time. Good conversation, laughter and kids playing filled the rest of the evening. The night finished with my cousin Mateo and Greg taking 15 minutes to set up a car racing videogame for two players (it was defaulted to one player) so we could have a little family tournament before calling it a night (the things we have to come up with to entertain the kiddos). The winner of the tournament was Greg; all that practice at home came in handy.
Greg often quotes the Grinch during family gatherings: ‘Oh the noise, noise, noise!’
Cake two of the day, which means extra wishes to come true!
A family-filled day with lots of love was all I wanted for dad. I am thankful we could all be there with him to celebrate life.
Love you Papi!
-Valentina