It’s my mother’s birthday today. The woman is 58 and we shy away from saying she’s going on 60. She’s a sensitive woman.

It’s weird to think my mother, once young and vibrant, can qualify for senior discounts at some restaurants. She’s still up and at it with her frail and petite body, in order to manage a bustling Chinese restaurant (on top of a wounded ankle and bad knee) and provide for my family.

I admire a lot about my mother and in the 58 years of being alive, she has seen and experienced much more than I may ever will in the world. I do still hate the fact that she’s working at her age, and it pains me to see her work so hard and never really deeply satisfied with anything.

And I know it’s because she has not encountered Jesus in a powerful way. But I continue to intercede for her soul, and understand that there are steps I need to take for that to happen. I believe it is by no mistake that I am an intern with InterVarsity, and the already “radical” things I’ve chosen into have shaken her up, though just a bit.

I actually don’t even know when my mother’s exact birthday is. They go by the lunar calendar and it becomes much more confusing every year. It’s probably because she gets two birthdays a year, using the excuse that she celebrates either tradition when each comes around. I’ve caught her clever ways, but hey, I’m always down to celebrate. This September 27th date is just an arbitrary date my mother used when she came to this country, but it’s managed to stick with us.

I now question whether her birth year is even correct and wonder if 58 is her actual age…

This is Amy Hu signing off for September 27th, 2009.