Last Monday, I wrote about how wedding anniversaries aren’t a big deal to my Chinese husband. But not birthdays — especially my birthday. We just celebrated and, once again, he approached as if it were a national holiday.
John still loves coming up with what he calls “birthday programs” for my special day and this year was no exception. First, he declared the day a vacation day for us — no work under any circumstances! — and shelved my laptop away. But with the oppressive sunshine burning up the city streets, it was also no time to be outdoors; instead we decided to watch movies on demand at home. We just pulled the curtains, cuddled up in bed, and pretended we were at the movie theater. Simple but fun!
Come evening, however, John and I dressed up to step out into town — or rather, step out beside the West Lake to marvel in the lotus leaves dappling the lake’s surface as well as the dazzling show of lights from the city.
Here are my favorite photos from the evening:
Wishing you all a happy August!
Happy birthday, Jocelyn. 🙂
Thanks Eileen!
Congrats! I envy you your quiet movie day and beautiful evening out.
Thanks Autumn! Yes, quiet movie days are fun, as are lovely evenings out.
Happy birthday. Great pics.
Thanks Fred!
生日快乐????!!!
The second photo down, we have photos of Yan (my wife) and myself on that crooked bridge from 2005. You were indeed in a great place for a birthday!
谢谢!
Happy birthday! What a fun way to celebrate…a work-free day and movies in bed! You both look wonderful and the secnic pics are beautiful, too.
Thanks Charlotte! Yes, it was nice to have a forced vacation plus plenty of movies. We had a good time.
Happy birthday Jocelyn!! How nice of John to put so much effort into celebrating your birthday! He really is the perfect husband 😉
Thanks marghini! He is a really fantastic guy!
Happy people do a lot of things. They spend time expressing gratitude, cultivating optimism, practising kindness, nurturing loving relationships, committing to meaningful goals, savouring life’s little pleasures, and so on and so forth.
Marc and Angel
Congrats, Jocelyn.
I like John’s shirt, it has that retro look to it.
Thanks Traveller at heart!
Yeah, I love John’s shirt too — it’s one of my personal favorites!
So you are a Leo… You must have a strong character then. -;)
Btw, happy birthday Jocelyn!
Yep, I am a Leo! And thank you! 🙂
Happy birthday! You look stunning!
Thanks Lina!
Happy Birthday, Jocelyn.
祝你生日快乐!!
Thanks Rdm!
Happy Birthday Jocelyn!
Thank you Sara!
Beautiful birthday photos. You two look great. And I love the lotus pictures. It’s nice that John makes a big deal about your birthday. He’s celebrating the fact that you were born.
Thanks Nicki! 🙂
Happy Birthday!!!!!!
Thank you MM!
Both of you have flowery clothes, hehe! Was that intentional? 😛
Happy birthday!!!
Thanks Marta! Ha ha, I didn’t even think about that! It really wasn’t, but nice that we coordinated well in the end!
Happy belated birthday! It sounds like you had a wonderful day. I love that you have your North face purse to complete your outfit… a hint of outdoorsy! It is totally my style as well! 🙂
Thanks leslie! Yeah, there’s a decidedly outdoorsy side to me (which might explain why I spend way too much of my time in very casual and sporty clothes!), so the purse is totally my style. Sounds like we’re style sisters? 😉
Happy birthday Jocelyn! It looks like you had a great day at a beautiul place. Hope you also got something nice to eat. 😀
It’s really beautiful, Jocelyn! You two must have a wonderful time together. Hangzhou really just have that “special” charm to it, esp. with the Legend of the White Snake and all the romanticized names of all its attractions.