My mom picked up her needle and thread and started working on the hole on my jeans again. This was her 5th time working on the same hole. Because of the length of our travel and the restraint in space, our limited clothing wore out quickly. Within months my jeans thinned out to the point of no return and everyday new holes would appear or old patches would break again. Despite this hopeless cycle, my mom was still willing to put time and effort into fixing my pants when even I had given up. It is such a spirit that kept me going many times in life when I wanted to give up. My mom is far from perfect, but willingness and humility are two qualities of hers that has left a deep impact on my life.
“I am actually feeling very discouraged this morning…because none of you guys are here,” Olivia bursted out in tears.
She continued, “Here we are traveling for one year together as a family, but I feel like we each are just doing our own thing. Mom writing her Chinese blog, Dad is on his phone, Joani on her iPad. I feel like none of you exist. Or I don’t exist…”
As I woke up from my sleepless night of sweating and rolling around in the bed, “Mr. Mom” burst through the door. His hands were full with two bottles of cold water, a kilo of tomatoes, and a kilo of oranges.” Mr. Mom” was a term my dad created for himself since he provided everything for the family like a mom. I think I’m slowly starting to like my dad as “Mr. Mom”. Continue reading “Mr. Mom”→