“Looking back as an adult woman, I think of the effort it must have taken her to transcend her own tiredness (and who know what assaults or wounds to her spirit had to be put aside so that she could give something to her own).” — bell hooks, “Homeplace (a site of resistance)” My time […]
Month: May 2025
Adventuring
It’s been a little over a week since I arrived in Taiwan, and what a week it has been. My intention had been to try to blog each day, a way to reflect on each moment of the journey. However, apparently, I can only do that in my room at the Hilton in New Taipei […]
Arriving
I arrived in Taipei last night, and got to my hotel just after midnight. Before I lost internet, an hour into my flight, I began keeping track of moments that I’ve felt my mom’s presence during this journey. I’ll keep sharing mom sightings on this blog. Here are the first few: I’ve had photos of […]
Waking up in Taiwan
This morning, I woke up with a mission. Before leaving for Kaohsiung this afternoon, I wanted to visit two places: the high school where my mom taught and the last address I had for her, where her graduate school acceptance letter was sent. After a nostalgia-filled breakfast, I left my hotel for the bus station. Since […]
Journeying
I don’t exactly know what I want to write except that I’m here at SEA-TAC, 45 minutes before boarding starts for my flight to Taipei. Usually, words come pretty easily, but right this second, they are hard. As I type to try to put something down, the words aren’t easier, but what is present is […]
On Mothering, Mother’s Day, and a “Return” to my Maternal Homeland
Mother’s Day. I have known the complexity and tensions of Mother’s Day for over 30 years, since my mother passed away…and perhaps even for the ten years prior to that when my mother lost her mother and I lost my grandmother who helped raise me as a young child. With the adoption of my older […]
Recentering, Resting & Restoration
I used to be one of those (weird) kids who didn’t love the weekend, and couldn’t wait to get back to school on Monday (maybe that’s why I became a teacher 😅). While I loved my mom and spending time with her on the weekends, I was lonely as a child, and she was tired […]