family
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2025 Reflections
I didn’t set out in 2025 to accomplish anything in particular, and didn’t think of this year as important while I was living it. I fell twice this year. Both times in front of Eric. The second time ended in the ER, my hand fractured, my body suddenly not as reliable as I had always… Continue reading
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My Mother’s calls
My mother used to call me for no reason. Just to hear my voice. I let her calls go to voicemail. Everytime, she would leave messages saying, “Mạ gọi. Không có chi” in her heavy Huê accent. And I rarely returned her calls. I understand now. The calls were small doorways into her loneliness, her… Continue reading
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Giô Ngoai 2025
It has been 5 years now since Mom passed. I feel so hollow thinking about it. It’s almost like it was today. Like the line “Aujourd’hui, maman est morte” in Camus’ L’ Etranger. I thought of Mom a lot the night before. I thought of things I didn’t do with her and for her, things… Continue reading
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What makes me happy?
That was the first line I read on a magazine article this morning. Do you know what makes you happy? If someone asks you that question, do you have the answers? I woke up and decided to push myself to do things that I promised myself I would do last night. Before going to sleep,… Continue reading
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Giô Nôi 2024
It’s December 23, 2024 today. Nôi passed on December 23, 2020. I first met Nôi in the spring of 1975. She was a beautiful woman, with delicate facial features yet strong working hands. Nôi had a comfortable childhood, growing up in a prosperous family in a village in the North of Vietnam. Her family would… Continue reading
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Giô Ngoai 2024
Every year, I hold memorials for my parents and my mother-in-law. It’s a way for me to honor their memories, for my children to remember them, and to establish a tradition for future generations. I prepare a dinner with the dishes they loved, bringing their presence into our home through the food they cherished and… Continue reading
New Day: New Beginning 