Happy Mother’s Day Mom

My mother is the most un-selfish and kind-hearted person that I know next to my late father. She was recruited right out of high school to work for American Airlines as she had a passion to see the world her entire life. She gave half of her paycheck to her parents for many years in order to help them through difficult times. She also learned to speak a few languages along the way as she has a rare gift of communicating with people of all backgrounds. I even had the experience of friends (including boyfriends) pretending to get in touch with me when they knew I wasn’t around just so that they could connect with my mother. They wanted to talk to her because she was so exciting and a great listener! She’s a little magical and has quite an infectious personality similar to that of the infamous “Auntie Mame”. For example, she taught my brother and me to eat with chopsticks from when we were toddlers. People often found that very amusing and she taught us how to say a few key words in Japanese and Mandarin which delighted everyone at the time!

She absolutely loves fashion, theater, art, and Asian Culture (which was instilled in me) and Asian artwork was displayed all over our house. She also continues to wear Asian fashions as she has always had a penchant for beautiful silk Mandarin dresses and kimonos since I can remember. She was wearing Asian Fashions before Asian Fashions were in Vogue and had my brother and me greeting guests in our Chinese Pajamas.

She and my late father spent a lot of time in Asia and absolutely loved it! Their fondest memories were of the times they had in China, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. She is my inspiration and the reason why I am so enamored with Asian art, history, culture and the cultures and backgrounds of other ethnicities.

Thank you Mom! You’re the best!