Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year. It's the year of the Tiger, and my mom is turning 60. She's an amazing force who raised my sister and I without my father's help. She gave up her personal needs in order to provide for us. When we got older, and were less, um, needy, she set her own priorities. This past December, she finished her last grad school class and got her masters. She is one relieved and happy woman. It's been a hard journey for her and she feels truly free (she calls me up and invites us over to dinner all the time now). And really this whole path while not without struggle was made only possible by moving to America.

We were lucky enough to come to America in the 80's on a plane, not on a boat. I'll elaborate on this story another time. I was recently lent an amazing book titled, Snakehead, written by Patrick Radden Keefe, about the human smuggling trade. In particular, it speaks about the wave of Chinese from Fujian province to New York in the 80's. There are many twists and turns in the book that made me think about our past and the struggles of immigrants. My head has been wrapped around these journeys, hardships for a while now, and I hope to address it with my work in the near future. It's an important subject for me, so I will share more in the future.

And a happy valentines day to my darling, Ross, and to you, my dear friends.