A bittersweet time…

Move-in day wasn’t as hard as I thought, mainly because of the energy of the student volunteers who were so welcoming and excited to see all new families. Spending the last few days with him really helped. The drop off was smooth and easy. I was super relieved when I found out we were all allowed to go to his dorm room. So we did our best to help him unpack and organize a bit. We also met Dai Bee’s roommate, who’s a Math major from North Carolina. In a few minutes of meeting him and his family, I think they are a great match.

I wished Dai Bee was a little more prepared – we ended up with a few Target/Walmart runs than we wanted to. Well, I guess it was hard to figure out what was needed, especially coming from across the country. He will be spending his first night at the dorm with his new roommate. So that was it. We hugged and waved good bye. I can’t wait to hear all the great lessons he’ll learn and the deep friendships he’ll build in the next 4 years.

A campus tour…

I thought giving birth was hard, I didn’t expect sending my baby to college was harder. I gave myself ample time to prepare for this day – since he was 4th grade when I dropped him off at a week long overnight music camp. I rehearsed this in my head numerous times how this day would go. Yet when we’re here and with all the emotions building up, it seems so surreal.

I went to college, drove myself in the wee hours without bidding farewell to anyone and trying not my best not to wake them up. I remembered my dad helped me load up the car. He didn’t say much and I hopped inside the car without much to say. I stomped on the gas and didn’t look back in the rear view mirror.

Years later, I going through the college again, except this time I’m standing on the other side. I now know exactly how my parents felt back then. I wished I could rewind time and give them a heartfelt hug. I would wipe off their tears and tell them I will be ok.

Funny how we spend all these years as parents preparing our children, showing them to move bravely and courageously through their life and then without much warning, they turn back and let us know we should be doing exactly just that.

This was our first time setting foot on the campus. It’s still quiet and many buildings weren’t allowing visitors. We roamed around wherever we could. It was a beautiful (and hot) day to do that.

A backpacking trip…

Last year the boys weren’t able to make it to their annual camping trip. So this year, the camp’s organization made it up by taking them to a backpacking trip! To Yosemite!!! How cool is that??!! Initially I didn’t want them to go because as Dai Bee’s heading off to college soon, I thought I would keep him for a few more days. ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶ Dai Bee insisted since it was his last year joining this group, plus a backpacking, at Yosemite? When is that going to happen? I pondered for a little and agreed with him. This would be an once in a lifetime experience for sure and leave them with great memories. I can’t say ‘no’ to that. See you guys in 10 days and can’t wait to hear those interesting stories!

Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to clip them onto this beautiful background. Though I’m not there with them in person, I can totally imagine the great time they will have.

A permit…

This is the best place to hang out – says no one EVER. DMV is like the last place I want to set foot in. Unfortunately this is our only choice when we have to take care of business, i.e. taking a permit test.

Got there early trying to avoid the line. Luckily he signed up the express line (which also means the line with appointments) and cut short the waiting line. Well, it doesn’t matter because we still have to wait when we got inside. The entire process took 1.5 hours (including taking the test). Phew, he passed with 3 mistakes. I wouldn’t be happy if we had to go back again for the written test. We will be back next year when he’s back for the driving test. One thing to cross off the list.

A passion…

Couldn’t get Ah Lo to wake up any earlier during the entire school year, or couldn’t get him up without having more than one person pounding on his door every morning. As I was worried how he’s going to manage summer time, I learned he was invited to his school’s basketball summer league. Practices for summer are pretty intense, and it’s on a daily schedule. He’s been going to practice since last week every day, sometimes twice a day. Even the day we got back from camping trip, he went straight to the gym without any complaints. Workouts are early in the morning from 8am or 9am, depending on the day. Every morning he gets up on his own, bikes to the gym by himself, and comes back to repeat in the afternoon. He would also stay behind when practices are over to continue to hone his shooting skills.

I guess this is what passion is about. If you enjoy something, you would want to work hard and better yourself. I’m glad he found his passion.

A new habit…

I did it! Today marks the 365th day of me hitting 10k daily steps. On pre-pandamic days, I set my goal to reach 5 days in a row. Sadly I never met this goal. During pandemic, I wanted to make sure I stay active. In the beginning I was determined to go for 7 days straight. When I reached my goal, I increased the target to be 14 days, then 30 days, 50 and 100. Now it’s not a goal anymore, but a habit. No matter how tired I am, I make sure I hit my 10k steps.

A shelter in place – week 12…

This has been a busy time week for the boys. They spent many hours in zoom meetings planning for their online tutoring program. It’s slowly coming into place, but with a lot of more work to do in the coming weeks.

This week –

1. During the boys’ daily zoom meeting, Dai Bee was on the piano for his cousin, S’ birthday. All his cousins sang the birthday song, both English and Chinese (via zoom).
2. For the last couple of weekends, the boys stopped by the grandpa’s house and took him out for a little walk around the block.
3. The boys zooming with their cousin. This scene happens quite often this week.
4. Ah Lo graduated this week.
5. Ah Lo’s last zoom class earlier this week. IT was bittersweet to hear him say, “Good-bye.”

A virtual promotion ceremony…

Today is a big day – Ah Lo’s commencement. Graduations are always bittersweet, and often makes me sad, especially during these historical times. With so much going on these days (protesting and pandemic), it’s hard to go through the day without feeling torn. Despite of all it all, we hope to take a little time to celebrate Ah Lo’s another milestone. He graduated today and gave a stellar speech to his classmates.  He’s ready to move forward. High School, here he comes!

A moment – “ironing”

A Friday ritual.

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember – {this moment}

A weekend of basketball…

This weekend Ah Lo played three games in the Asian league. He did very well, and I was super proud of him that he finally accomplished his goal of scoring 15 pts in one game.

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3 –