Writing the Past in the Present

My grandmother was born in 1918. This is what my family has always known. Her government ID cards list her name, Suey Fun Low, followed by her date of birth, October 28, 1918, and each year we counted out the candles for her birthday cake accordingly. When she turned eighty years old several years ago, she had two birthday parties-one with all her friends and relatives in Vancouver, and another larger one with all our relatives in Zhongshan County in southern China, just north of Macau. So it was a bit of a surprise when I discovered that she was actually born a year later in 1919.