Saturday
evening October 5th at 8:30pm marked the beginning of a two-day
event Maribel had been both looking forward to and dreading. It was an occasion
when friends and family from Chiclayo, Lima and elsewhere would come together
to help her celebrate her birthday. That part she liked. The part she didn’t
like was that the occasion marked her 50th birthday. Fortunately as
of this writing she has made the mental transition (she doesn’t have to worry
about a physical transition…she still looks like she’s 30) and we can look
forward to another 10 years of peace until the dreaded 60th looms on
the horizon.
Following
weeks of planning the party began at the Perla de las Flores (Pearl of the
Flowers) banquet hall. After most of the guests had arrived, as is the custom
Maribel was formally presented to the guests; first by her son Brian and then
by me. The remainder of the evening consisted of dancing, dinner, lots of
conversation and laughter, and a clown for entertainment. 
A
wide variety of music for dancing was played, and Maribel danced with every
man, woman and child who attended. At one point I found myself singing the
words to the Bee Gees ‘Stayin alive’ and disco dancing with our family dentist.
When
the banquet hall closed its doors at 4:00am the party moved to a private home
where the festivities continued to about 6:00am, when everybody agreed to go to
their respective homes/hotel rooms for a few hours sleep. The celebration didn’t
stop…it just paused while people recharged their batteries for the next phase.
The
party reconvened on Sunday the 6th at1:00pm; the exact time and at the
home where Maribel was delivered by a mid-wife 50 years ago. During the
afternoon Maribel was surprised (so was I) and serenaded by a mariachi band
that her friends and family had chipped in to hire. Following the entertainment
there was dancing, and then a delicious lunch of heaping portions of fresh duck
and rice, topped off by what seemed to be an infinite supply of birthday cake.
It
was in the early evening, when the people from out of town began to leave to
catch planes and busses that the party finally wound down. After helping with
the clean-up the local people said their goodbyes and the celebration was
officially over.
Though
I am sure she doesn’t need them, Maribel has a ton of photos and gifts to help
her remember this birthday. What I will remember most is how much my wife is
loved, respected and appreciated by so many people. When I married Maribel, not
only did I gain a great wife…I acquired a large number of quality friends and
family, all of whom will be talking about this past weekend for some time to
come.
No comments:
Post a Comment