This week, on Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #193, John from Journeys with Johnbo is the host for this week’s challenge and he’s picked the theme They say it’s your birthday…

After many years of hardly celebrating anything, I no longer know how to react to someone congratulating me, say happy birthday, or wishing me a happy holiday. I suppose a simple “thank you” is always suffice but sometimes, I feel like just saying “thank you,” is missing something.

Do you ever feel that way? When someone wishes you a happy birthday and all you say is thank you? I can’t recall how many times I typed those two words on my last birthday when flurries of messages came in from Facebook from people who don’t talk to me except on this day.

My last birthday was somewhat special. It was the same day as the company summer party. The entire company gathered at the zoo where we got to ride the kiddie trains, carousels, and visit the animals. My favorite part was getting to watch the sunset.

When I spent 4 months in China back in 2017, just when my time was almost up, I told my aunt I must have a birthday cake even though my birthday was months away. If you ask me the food I miss the the most when I was growing in China, I would tell you a birthday cake.

In my opinion, it’s so much better than any of the cakes I’ve had in the U.S. The cake is moist, not too sweet, and oh, let’s not forget the fruit. It’s one of those things that changes one’s life. It was 450 grams of utter deliciousness.