From the Front Page Sections, translated…
At the start of January, my daughters started asking me, what sort of a present I want for my birthday; although I’m very glad, that they remembered, but actually I couldn’t quite think of anything that I’d needed; what I’d needed, I’d already gotten, and used, I can’t think of a thing I need; plus, I’d still have an eighty-six year old, eighty-seven year-old mom and dad, to play coy with, that, would be the best present ever. What else, would I need? As I’d told my daughter, I was reminded of the children in “Youth Home”, who, will remember them, on their birthdays?
not my photo…
And so, I’d asked for the list of birthdays from the home, and decided to send them my blessings on their birthdays. A baker who’s a friend, Jeng-Guo Lee, after he’d known, he’d insisted on, baking them birthday cakes, and I couldn’t talk him out of spending the time, the energy and the money, and so, I’d accepted his offering.
As I’d gathered up with my past classmates, I’d told them about this, my classmate said to me, “you must make some special effects, call them up as you are telling the stories, asked him if he’d done something awful, then, tell him to go outside to see his teacher, then, get the cake out, and reach an understanding with the other children in the class, as the teacher leads him back out, starting singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.”
I’d thanked him for this great idea.
Yesterday, I’d gotten up, to tell the stories at the regular gathering time, after I’m done tell the stories, I’d called out to a specific child, “Darling, something happened today, do you know what it was?”, he, who was, normally shy, opened his eyes, real wide, looked at me, nervously, all the other kids were also, wrecking their brains too, as I’d told them the “right answer”, that little boy’s excitement was, radiating from his face, his face started, lighting up, like the sun.
I led every child, to tell him a blessing; and, Yu-Ching who’d gone with me went to the car to get the cake, she’d shown up with it, started singing “Happy Birthday” at the top of her lungs, and everybody, because of the excitement, started, singing along too, and the little boy started grinning, from ear to ear, he was overcome with joy, that he didn’t know how to react.
not my photo…
“Tell us a wish, just one, come on!”, at the urging of everybody, this shy, rarely spoken up little boy said, in a loud voice, “I hope, that everybody can leave Homefront soon, and go home.”
The children who arrived in Homefront, are all from families with problems, some of the families had, lost the functionality completely, and so, when they were dropped off, the workers treated them as their loved ones, wanting to give them, the feel of warmth that a family should have, but, no matter how hard the staff members worked, the kids still, longed to go home.
Home, is the mostly deeply rooted place that one feels belonging to, it’s also a place, that you’d taken, from granted most easily. A lot of children viewed the cares and concerns of their families as bondage, wanted to break free, and live away; but to the kids in Homefronts , going home, is a hard to come true wish, they’ carried that, deep rooted desire that’s filled by sorrows, in the end, these dreams became, their birthday wishes, hoping that the heavens can grant.
His wish made me feel sad, as I watched him cut up the cake, I felt, like that cake, being cut to pieces.
In the evenings my daughter got off work, rushed home on the HSR, because she’d busied for an entire month and hadn’t made it home, the moment she’d walked in, she’d hollered out, “It’s so good to be home!”, then, went into the dining room, to have the soup I’d made for her, she’d said, “it’s a blessing to come home”, see the satisfied look on my daughter’s face, I was reminded, of that child’s birthday wish, and, I’d felt, that pain inside of my heart again………
Going home is such a simple wish, but, for some, it’s next to impossible, because these kids are, the wardens of the states, because the homes they came out of had lost their functions, and, although they are very well provided for, that longing to go home will always be inside of their hearts.
Life, the Obstacle Course 