On my grandmother's birthday

 　　It's said that sometimes plans don't keep up with changes, and today's events perfectly illustrate this point. Today is a beautiful day, not as muggy as the past few days. Thinking back to yesterday when I went to the market to bring food to my grandmother, she hoped I could come to her house today. I also heard her say that my aunt would be coming too, which surprised me.

　　However, this morning, as soon as I woke up, my father dropped a bombshell: "Are you going to your grandmother's house? It's her birthday today." Hearing my father's words, it was impossible not to be shocked. Suddenly, I understood what my grandmother meant when she said those things at the market yesterday. Only then did I realize that my grandmother wanted me to come because it was her birthday.

　　Many things happened on my grandmother's birthday, some of which are hard to explain all at once. As far as I can remember, I never knew my grandmother's birthday before, and this is the only birthday I've ever truly experienced with her—perhaps because today hasn't passed yet! Honestly, it was only this time that I learned my maternal grandmother's birthday. It turns out it's the first day of the seventh lunar month. Just like I didn't know my paternal grandparents' birthdays before, I only learned them after celebrating one of their birthdays with them. My grandfather's birthday is the 28th day of the eleventh lunar month, and my grandmother's is the first day of the fifth lunar month, the day before my younger sister's birthday. All I ever remembered were my best friend's birthday and my family's birthdays.

　　I nodded, silently thinking, "Go, of course I'll go. After all, it's my maternal grandmother's birthday. Whether it's a small birthday or a big one, it's a responsibility for every younger generation to celebrate with the elders in the family. Besides, my grandmother has always been very good to me. If I don't go, she'll definitely be disappointed, since I've always stayed at home, unlike my mother and younger sister who work in other places."

　　Sure enough, I went, changing my last-minute plan to tidy up the house. To my surprise, my younger sister also took a day off; she also planned to go to my grandmother's house. She skipped her summer tutoring and dance class today just to go to my grandmother's house. But what she was really thinking, I have no idea.

　　My sister and I rode on Dad's new motorcycle on our way to Grandma's house. On the way, Dad and sister bought some fruit for Grandma, while I went to buy breakfast for the three of us. Because the motorcycle was fast, we arrived at Grandma's house in no time.

　　As soon as I saw Grandma, I excitedly shouted, "Happy birthday, Grandma!" Grandma smiled at me. Then I sat on a stool next to her and chatted with her. What surprised me even more was that Dad, my sister, and I were the first people to arrive at Grandma's house today. My older cousin had come home last night; she knew it was Grandma's birthday and had even ordered a birthday cake. This reminded me of Grandma's birthday earlier this year, when my older cousin also mentioned on the phone that she wanted to order a birthday cake for Grandma, but I "talked too much" and ruined it. But honestly, I didn't intentionally reveal my older cousin's actions to Grandma; it was just a thoughtless act. I felt I should respect the birthday person's wishes, so I mentioned it.

　　Arriving at my maternal grandmother's house surprised me because neither my aunt nor my cousin were there. Of course, it's also because my grandmother's house is under renovation, and my uncle and aunt were helping to move mud and sand. Aside from chatting with my grandmother, I spent most of the morning alone in a quiet environment, listening to music on my phone because I was incredibly bored.

　　Around noon, my aunt, cousin, cousin's wife, and my cousin's sister arrived. My aunt even brought her grandchildren, who were very lively and adorable, with delicate features and fair skin. The most embarrassing thing for me was that I mistook my cousin's wife for my cousin's sister. I felt they looked very similar, or perhaps I just missed my cousin too much; after all, I'm very close to my cousin, and I adore her. My eldest cousin, my uncle's eldest daughter, didn't go home until almost noon, carrying a cake.

　　We wanted to invite Grandma to my uncle's house for cake, but she kept refusing. So we ate the birthday cake ourselves. I even had my cousin deliver two peach-shaped cakes to her, but to my surprise, she didn't want them. Instead, she gave them to my aunt, who's always a bit simple-minded but incredibly hardworking.

　　Because it was Grandma's birthday, it was a special day for my mother, so she sent a red envelope in our WeChat family group for us relatives to claim. At first, I didn't pay much attention, but I didn't expect my mom to call and remind me to grab some red envelopes. So, after hanging up, I immediately opened the family group chat and grabbed a red envelope sent by my mom. A while later, my uncle also sent a group red envelope, and I immediately grabbed it. However, the second group red envelope I grabbed didn't have as much money as the first one. Comparing the two group red envelopes, I found that my cousin was the luckiest. She grabbed more than ten yuan in the first red envelope, more than one yuan more than me, and grabbed the most money in the second one. In total, she grabbed more than twenty yuan in WeChat red envelopes.

　　We had lunch at my uncle's house because it's near my grandmother's house, just downstairs. At lunch, because I had just eaten cake, I didn't eat much, while my younger brother, sister, and two cousins ​​kept vying for a drink of "Nutritional Express." I only drank two small cups of "Nutritional Express."

　　Dad also had a little beer. After a while, he drove off on his new motorcycle. My sister and I, along with my older cousin, my older cousin, and my future cousin-in-law, arrived in my cousin-in-law's car. His car had air conditioning, but I don't know the specifics, so I won't go into details.

　　At Grandma's house, some happy things happened, and some unhappy things happened. The happy things were enjoying a delicious meal, reuniting with my older cousin whom I hadn't seen in a long time, eating a birthday cake, celebrating Grandma's birthday, and seeing my older sister wearing a hat in a WeChat video call—she initiated the call. The happy things were sitting and chatting with my older cousin, my future cousin-in-law, and my cousin's wife. The happy things were hearing my older cousin receive a strange phone call and then immediately and bluntly retort. The happy things were that when we got back to Grandma's house, she didn't ask why I hadn't eaten lunch there. And the happy things were that the rain stopped when we got home for dinner. The unpleasant thing was that I couldn't solve a problem with my cousin. His problem surprised me; apparently, unfreezing his WeChat account required a friend's help, which was quite troublesome. The unpleasant thing was that my sister kept nagging me to go home in the afternoon. And the unpleasant thing was that it started raining on my way home around 5 pm.

　　In short, I think today was unforgettable and memorable. Therefore, I decided to record it in my collection of essays, "Gentle Reminiscences."

　　...

　　(The End)