In the fall, I went home to Ohio to attend the funeral of my uncle Larry, my dad's brother-in-law. It was a sad time for our family, but seeing my parents, aunts, and cousins made it all more bearable for everyone.
My mother is an somewhat fanatical gardener, and though it was the end of the summer, her flower garden was in full bloom. I took some pictures of their bounty, and through the long, rainy winter, like to take them out to look at them from time to time.
With spring's arrival throughout most of the US, I thought I would share some of what we have to look forward to in the coming months. Here in California, the brillian orange California poppies are already making an appearance along the side of the road.
I was in Houston for the Mom 2.0 Conference last month. Somehow, this picture that I took when arrived at the Four Seasons just showed up via Posterous. I guess it's been looping around in the ether all this time. I had a wonderful time in Houston, but haven't had a chance to write about it yet due to work. Maybe this is the internet's way of subtly reminding me?
Usually, phone camera photos are not that great, but if you can catch the light, you can get some nice effects. I have a G1 Android phone, and this was taken while we were driving home on Highway 50 from the Gold Country a few weeks ago. We visited the Gold Country because our fourth grader is studying California history this year, and it made for a nice day-trip from Palo Alto.
Not the best picture, but it caught the contemplative mood of our little trip, and the soft, gray descending twilight.
While this film centers on immigrants in the San Francisco Bay area, the stories could be told just about anywhere. For me, the stories reminded me of my mother, and her immigration story. I've written here before about my mom's determination to become a US citizen, but I haven't told all of her story. That's more than one blog post could possibly handle.
My mother's birthday is tomorrow, March 6, and I have been thinking a great deal about all that she has contributed in her 69 years. She was never able to complete high school because the Korean War interrupted her schooling and she had to go to work to help support her eleven brothers and sisters after their father died. She came to the US as a teenager, married to my dad, with a baby in tow. She had three children before age 25. She worked in a factory for 25 years, and would have kept on working had it not closed its doors and moved operations to Mexico.
Despite whatever hardships came her way, She kept her sense of humor and fun, ran a tight ship, and grounded her children in the belief that they could make of their lives whatever they could dream. My mother has been my inspiration, trusted adviser, and friend for my entire life.
My mother never held public office, has never been on television, owned a business, or traveled much of the world. She has raised three kids, sometimes as a tyrant, sometimes as a friend, but always with enormous courage and love. Her contribution to the world may not seem to be that big, but to me, it is everything.
My mother's story, and the stories of the people in the Asian American Voices film, are only a tiny representation of what Asian Americans have contributed to the US. I hope that everyone, no matter what their ethnicity, will take time to watch this and reflect on the impact of diverse cultures to the richness of our society.
You can join the dialogue and become a fan of the Film on Facebook, and if you do, you could win tickets to the March 20 showing at the SF International Asian-American Film Festival!
