With my own tank of oxygen!
Not just for girls in the hospital but boys too.
Last night I sat down to an assortment of new alarm clocks and two giant, the biggest I’d ever seen, papayas on the dining room table. “They cute huh honey?” mom asked as she scooped rice into a bowl.
“Are they supposed to be…um, cute?” I prodded one of the papayas. It was bright green and didn’t look like it was going to soften anytime this year, much less this month.
“Yea, mom proud they so big. Good deal. Buy big, less money.”
Before I could comment on how absurd that sounded, the alarm clocks began rattling in succession. What the… 7pm. Oh right, every hour on the hour. This was all perfectly normal (at least in our household) until one of the clocks started belting out country tunes. Country tunes in a robotic, doorbell kind of way, the kind of country tunes found in cartoons with Bugs Bunny chasing the Road Runner down some lonely stretch of Texas desert. First the rooster phone now country tune alarm clocks. WTF.
Mom glanced up and laughed, “It cute honey?”
*****
On this visit, my mom had these two tidbits of wisdom for me:
#1 Saving for the Future:
“Thanh My already bought house. She two year younger than you, no speak English too good. But she came here after and she save, save money. Why you not like that? You know she single, three kid wit BIG HOUSE. She work on nail just downtown. She good daughter…”
Wait. She’s single with three kids and you think she’s a good daughter for buying a house??
#2 Dating Up in Life:
“Mom say you don’t need date. But if you want man, go Vietnam honey. Many rich, mill-on-aire. Take rich boy back wit you. They give you fifty thousand to go America. And you no have to live wit them.
[pauses]
I should have done too when I young like you. But now too late. Still, you go. You pretty girl, have chance to make money. Better than be alone, mommy tinks.”
Nice. I'd rather be alone and um, I think that’s illegal.
Greatness is not a destination, but a journey. What do you do for your family, career or community that you’re most proud of?
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Being thankful and grateful for the full life that surrounds me is something that is always embedded in my mind. I'm not sure if that makes me "most proud" of it but it definitely reminds me that giving back is key. Whether it's helping a friend out, spending time with family or giving up some of my free time to volunteer, I try not to forget how lucky I am..
What is it about friends posting pictures from years ago, not just of themselves but of you too. Thankfully I like the photo despite the fact that I'm wearing silver-ish lipstick. To be 24 again!
