I Suck At 100 Day Parties

Today, our baby daughter (Briana) had her third celebratory party within the same number of months. The party today was in celebration of Briana being 100 days. Now, I suck at 100 day parties. Normally, 100 days is nothing to celebrate. There usually is no tradition or custom for it.

In the case of Briana, however, my parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because they could not have the traditional one month red egg and ginger party that is typically held at Chinese restaurants. Briana was born prematurely on St. Patrick's Day. So by the time she had reached one month of age, Briana was still too weak to go out... let alone go out to a Chinese restaurant whereby she would be introduced to everyone who would potentially want to hold her. Thus, my parents decided to wait until Briana was a little older before customarily introducing her to the rest of the family. Hence, the 100 day party. (For anyone curious, my parents did have a red egg party, but it was a small gathering of immediate family... not the customary entire family.)

Anyway, like most family gatherings, I looked upon today with some dread. Despite my penchant for being the clown prince when inebriated, I have never been much for being in the limelight... and although today was about Briana, I felt uneasy putting her in the limelight. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with how the 100 day party unfolded.

The party was held at the Grand Chinatown in Quincy. I have never eaten there before. In fact, I don't particularly eat out at Chinese restaurants in general because the food never seems to compare to my mother's own cooking. But I must say, the food today was good.

Typical of these types of Chinese traditions, everyone is bunched around a set of tables. Meal after meal after meal arrives. (It is, after all, typically a 10 course meal.) After all the meals are brought out, anything that is left gets taken home as leftovers.

Needless to say, the food was pretty good. The funniest part in my opinion was my favorite nephew (PJ) playing with the cooked chicken head. He originally wanted to keep the head. He was in such awe that when he touched the chicken head, he was like "I'll never wash my finger again". My nephew cracks me up. He also referred to the Chinese restaurant as a real Chinese restaurant. I bet if he had school tomorrow, he would be telling all his friends about the chicken head.

Interestingly enough, I was a little worried that my in-laws would not eat the food at the party. They have, I believe, never experienced the customary 10 course meal thing at a Chinese restaurant. I'm not sure if they have even had anything outside of "American" Chinese food or anything that my mother has not made. (In general, my mother tries to cook Chinese food that is visually appealing to the American palate.)

Sure, my mother selected dishes for the party that were probably more appealing than usual. So there were no things like jelly fish, abalone, or anything like that. But I have to give my in-laws credit, they did eat things that I did not think they would eat... like the soup or the red bean dessert. And the funny thing, they enjoyed it.

In addition to the good food, the party was surprisingly a fun time. I got to see my extended family which I very rarely see. Thus, my aunt, uncle and cousins were all there. A few of my mom's friends were there. My cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) were there.

Growing up, I tried to avoid seeing my extended family. It's not that my relatives were bad or anything like that. It's just that I did not share any commonalities with any of my relatives. There were also communication issues because they did not at the time know how to speak English all that well whereas I was born and bred here. And since I did not speak Chinese, I simply just sat quietly in the background.

Because of that, I very rarely saw my extended relatives. Seeing my relatives today, I actually felt like I missed out on so much. Many of the younger cousins I knew are all grown up. Heck, even Marvin, who I remember watching him leave for Hong Kong as a baby, is in high school now. Some of my cousins have cute adorable children... one near the same age as Briana. My relatives are now better at understanding English. It's almost like I feel I have lost that bond that I should have had growing up.

Of course, part of my nostalgic feeling may be due to where I currently am in my life. Having lost a child (Braden), I would probably say that I value and appreciate the relationships that I have with my family and friends more than in years past. Having Briana in my life also strengthens my fondness for those relationships. I don't have time or energy for unnecessary drama because I think there's more to life.

As much as I probably hate to admit it... for all the grief I give Karen about her family and how they cry at the snap of a finger, especially when it comes to their grandparents... a part of me does think that it is amazing to be loved by and have an impact on so many people. To leave a legacy like that is wonderful.

Anyway, I'm rambling. It was actually great seeing my relatives today, which is something I never really thought I would ever say. I enjoyed hanging out with them, seeing my cousins' children,... everything. It was definitely nice.