Being back in my hometown not only reminds me how much I’ve grown, but what a large role my family plays in my social responsibilities. There have been a slew of family gatherings recently and I didn’t realize how much I missed this aspect when I was in Los Angeles.
Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, my mom’s family coordinated a “small” banquet for the twenty of us. The rest couldn’t make it due to little things like high school prom, college finals, and weekend camping.
As my relatives get older, these dinners become increasingly important so that we can keep in touch. My mom swaps stories with her sisters whenever they get a chance to meet. It also gives us, the second generation, the time to spend with our grandparents. Despite the generation gap and sometimes, a language barrier, I love hanging out with my grandparents because they’ve experienced so much hardship and yet, they’re always so cheery. I hope I have the same optimism when I’m their age. It’s these precious moments that keep our family glued together.
At the dinner, it was a welcome surprise that my eldest aunt made floral boutonnières for all the moms in attendance. It was so cute to see how quickly they pinned these gifts to proudly display their motherhood. They were absolutely glowing throughout dinner and there was a smile that never really left their faces.
My mom is amazing.
She made it out of the downtown projects and into the suburbs. She started sewing/ironing in the sweatshops and ended up a computer programmer. She has worked tirelessly to achieve the American dream and she succeeded. She is one tough cookie.
And her offspring?
We were standing on the shoulders of her achievements, unencumbered by the struggles that have opened up so many doors of opportunity. We were given so much and we didn’t always appreciate it because we didn’t know any better. But we owe my mother everything…we owe her our lives…and for that, we do our best to fulfill our filial duties as good daughters.
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What a sweet, sweet way to spend Mother’s Day! It sounds like your family is incredibly close and that’s so wonderful to hear. There are too many families who are torn apart by different things. I love hearing about families who are so close.
My parents, my daughter and I went to breakfast with my grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin and my cousin’s daughter. The rest of our family had previous plans with the other mothers in their lives. My daughter will get to spend some time with her dad’s mom when I bring her there tonight for his custody days. This afternoon she’s been helping my dad to wash our cars and fix the pool! It’s been a good day.
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Lovely post! I especially like the pic of you and your mum. Hahaha, I thought only my sister did the hair mustache pics!
How sweet of your eldest aunt to hand out boutonnières to all the moms, too.
We had a low-key mother’s day weekend, but I did introduce my mom to brunch at Habana (@ the Lab/Anti Mall), which she really enjoyed.
Okay, I just looked more closely at the picture – that’s you and your sister, isn’t it. Taking foot out of mouth immediately. Sorry!
LOL. It’s alright. My sister is the goofy one and the photos don’t exactly make it easy to tell us apart. =)
I loved seeing your family pictures! That is a pretty big Mother’s Day celebration!! And that is awesome that your aunt made the flowers for everyone! So thoughtful!
I have not done anything, yet…both my mom and mother-in-law are currently out of town!
that place looks familiar!!
http://www.petiteandhungry.blogspot.com
It’s a Chinese restaurant in Milpitas. But I think all Chinese restaurants start to look the same after a while. lol. =)
“Small” banquet for 20! I am quite envious that you have so much family near you now. All of my “extended” relatives are in China and I get to see them maybe every five years. It looks like you guys had a wonderful day, and I can see the resemblance between you and your beautiful mother! (if that’s her in the 2nd pic)
Yup, that’s my mom. A lot of people have said that I’m a spitting image of her when she was younger, so I guess I have quick glimpse into how I’ll age when I see my mom. LOL. =)
The last two paragraphs about your mother really hit home for me! My mother has a very similar story, and I am eternally grateful for all the sacrifices she has made for us. Thanks for sharing!
I actually created a whole post as an ode to my mum.
I love your mum’s story. I agree that as people age, family becomes more and more important. I took it for granted when I was a teenager and younger, but as I get older (hell, I’ll be 30 next year!), I find that family really is as important as your BFF is.
xx{ish.},
Mae Lu @ thereafterish.!
How sweet!!! We didn’t do much for Mother’s Day.. We had some Mormon missionaries over and just fed them dinner!
awww so touching
i love my mom too – our moms are absolutely amazing women and to think of all the hardships they had to go through. thanks for the tip, jess! i really want to dye it black again but i just did so mid march and it’s already faded back to this weird colour again. maybe i’ll try the salon?