A Milestone: Our son turned 13

April 4, 2020 – our son, Pete, turned 13. Where has the time gone? Anyways, happiest birthday to the best son a parent could hope for!

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Turning 13 is indeed a milestone birthday as 13 marks the beginning of the teenage years. My husband and I actually planned to take him to a French fine dining at Topaz Restaurant and to gather some of his friends so they can have loads of fun together. However, due to social distancing guidelines and lockdown, our plans were called off.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

In spite of the pandemic, we had found other ways to make his natal day special and had a blast at home, after all it really is the little things that are remembered. So, I tossed in pretty yellow chrysanthemum flowers in the vase, casually set the table using blue placemats and blue glasses (my son’s favorite color is blue), baked Almond chocolate cake, made a gorgeous and delicious charcuterie, cooked a three course meal for a true ‘restaurant at home’ experience.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pete’s 13th birthday cake is a home-baked Almond chocolate cake. This cake recipe suits our taste – not too sweet – and  I tried to make it as healthy possible. I used olive oil for both the batter and the frosting, and I used honey instead of sugar.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the appetizer, I made charcuterie – a gorgeous and delicious spread – a French tradition that dates back to the 15^th century. It sounds fancy, it’s unique, it looks elegant and colorful, a plate of choice, and it’s the ideal “let’s have a chat about life” dish.

Charcuterie for my son’s 13th birthday.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition, in the Filipino culture, a birthday celebration wouldn’t be complete without a dish that has something long because it symbolizes long life. So, I made spaghetti carbonara with mushroom.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the afternoon, some of Pete’s friends organized an online surprised party for him. He basically spent his afternoon video calling some of his friends. I could hear them having so much fun and so much laughter together.

For dinner, my husband and I cooked beef steak served with fresh salad. I cooked the steak in butter with fresh thyme and fresh garlic, and seasoned it with freshly crashed Kampot pepper, while husband made fresh onion gravy – he caramelized the onion first and seasoned it with freshly crashed Kampot pepper. The steak was heavenly exquisite! It was a lovely dinner. We treated our son to a truly ‘grown up’ experience, where we talked about what it means to turn 13, and what the years ahead will bring. We also talked about music, and many other things.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Celebrating my son’s 13th birthday amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

On his 13^th birthday, my husband and I opted to offer Pete an acoustic guitar (since Pete has shown improvements in his guitar skills and his interests in playing a guitar and in music has grown stronger), and a personalized photo book (since he enjoys looking back on photographs and to celebrate the moments of his life and his beautiful childhood). We told him that when this global pandemic is over, we would take him to the shop so he can choose the best guitar he likes.

Overall, we celebrated Pete’s 13^th birthday quietly, fun and more relaxed amidst the global Covid-19 health crisis. Happy birthday, Pete and we love you dearly!