Making memories that we can savor as we age, translated…
When I was forty-eight, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy of my left breast. After four months’ worth of chemotherapy, life was, finally, slowly, returning to normal, my breast cancer had, metastasized to my limbic system. In a short six-months, I’d undergone surgeries, chemotherapy, an assortment of trials and tribulations, I was, ready, to face my own end. Back then, the company of my close friends and families had, helped lifted me up from the lows, and, the treatment after the cancer came back was, successful, my health got better and better.
When I was fifty years old, I’d invited my best friends to come with me to get a photo on the street where wedding dresses were sold in Taipei, although digital cameras are very convenience, but I’d wanted to, go to a photography shop, to get the photos taken, to show my joys of still being alive, along with my gratitude toward my best friends for their support. The eight of us put on the Chinese-style dresses we’d brought with us, then, changed into t-shirts and jeans, had a total of over a dozen shots. Seeing the developed photos, everybody laughed at herself, at the flabby bellies, and how round our figures are getting, it was, very fun; in order to help me fight harder to live, everybody made a date for when we all turned sixty.
And, the date we’d made is about to be here now, and, I’m very glad, that everybody is still very active, full of energies. This time, we’d each brought two Chinese dresses, two dresses, and, we’d intended to rent the wedding dresses too. The day before the shoot, we’d tried on the clothes we’d brought to share with one another at Fang’s house, Fang had even put out a couple of her eldest sister, who’s the wife of a C.E.O.’s dresses so we can have more to choose from.
Everybody started flustering, and, changed in and out of seven, to eight dresses, sweating like crazy, some of the zippers on the Chinese-style dresses won’t zip back up, some won’t hide our protruding bellies; we’d made fun of ourselves, making one another laugh until we’d panted, and we’d, given one another encouragements, to seek out the best way, to make our bellies look smaller, along with ways, to hide our middle-age figures. Two hours later, everybody’s very fatigued, and, we’d hollered, that being a model, is such hard business!
In the evening, we’d gone to the wedding photography shop to pick up the dress for the next day, and, the styles that the store manager showed us were the kinds that flashed the bust lines, the ones that exposed the backs, but, we’re, at midlife now, how can we possibly, fit on these sorts of dresses, with so little on-the-top “coverage”? And, we’d found ourselves, a couple of dresses, with a bit more coverage, although it wasn’t ideal, we can only, make do.
Following is the fitting. Holy! The zipper on the back, not only didn’t zip up, the distance between the zippers is two hands’ wide! Although we’re, in our fifties, but, we are not yet obese, Bi-Ying who’s thin weighs only 103 pounds, and Bi-Lang, who’s slimmed down is 103.4 pounds, is every member of the younger generation all very skeleton-like? Who can fit in, a dress this small? The store clerk didn’t react too much at our fusses, and, guaranteed, that the dresses will be, altered, so that, they’d, fitted us all, perfectly.
I’d returned with upset, to Fang’s place for the evening, just couldn’t sleep well the entire evening. The next morning we’d arrived at the photo studio, first, we got our photos taken in our leisure outfits, then, we’d all, put on our white dresses. The photographer hollered out to us who sucked in our bellies, “Relax! Smile more openly!”, but, he didn’t know, that as we’d exhaled, our breasts would fall flat, and, our abdomens couldn’t wait, to make their appearances. During the time of the shoot, we’d needed to, flash our smiles, to straighten our backs, and, we’d also, needed to, keep guard over our protruding at anytime bellies, and, it felt like we couldn’t manage both together. And, after we’d changed into the Chinese-style dresses in a panic. After the photographer took a few shots, he’d asked us to change our poses, “The one in the green Chinese-style dress, do sit down!”, then, everybody hollered aloud, “Can’t sit!”, because someone else will be wearing the dress, and, if it went bust, then, it would be, horrible.
A week later, we’d reviewed over the films, and, the ones that we’d done according to the photographer’s demand of making cute faces, and using cute gestures, looked awful, because we all looked too stiffened, the photos of us sitting down and standing up looked a whole lot better.
This later photo session was, way more interesting than the last, and, everybody was impressed, and, we’d made a date, to do it again every decade, until we’re all a hundred, and, even if we’re in wheelchairs, we’ll still have the pictures taken of us. And, I’m, looking forward to our one-hundredth year session, that I’ll be dressed up as a traditional Chinese bride, with my arms around my respirator in the shots.
So, this group of ladies is documenting their own aging processes, and, their friendships would persist through time, because, they were very close to one another, they can make fun of each other, and, they get along very well, and that, is what friendship is all about!