Happy Mother's Day

My mother and I have had an interesting relationship throughout my life. I think most first generation Chinese girls have a hard time with their mothers and their parenting style in comparison to their American friends. The different parenting style compounded with her working and a lot and me either taking care of myself or hanging out with other people's families made it even more of a difficult relationship. 

She had to sacrifice time with me to support me. Today in church, we watched this cute video narrated by little kids answering questions about their mom. It ended with the question "What is your favorite thing about your mom?" All of the little kids say things like how she plays with me, kisses my boo-boos, cuddles with me, etc. The video hit a heart-string with the whole congregation including me. Even though I don't remember my mom doing all those things with me, I still know she loves me and I am special to her. She just shows it differently. She was a single mom for most of my life and was able to give me everything I ever wanted. While she didn't understand why I did all of the extra things  besides school, she paid for them and let me do whatever I wanted with my life. She let me move all the way to Rhode Island to go to my dream school. 

So these are my favorite things about my mom, she is...

• Strong
• Generous
• Hard working
• Smart
• Unconventional
• Practical
• Her "Can do" attitude
• Obsessed with her little dogs
• Shows love by giving

As I have gotten older and moved far away from home, I have been able to appreciate her more and more every day. She never told me the things I wanted to hear. She never let me feel satisfied, there is always room for improvement. You can always study more, work harder, and achieve more. My mom is the strongest person I know. I joke about her a lot, but I really admire her. While she is a very small and intimidating woman, she has the biggest heart and is so giving. And the more and more I learn about leadership, the more I realize how great of a leader she is. She owns the restaurant and does the majority of the cooking in the kitchen. She spends well over 40 hours a week in that restaurant and manages to keep up her home and garden and still finds time and enjoyment to cook and entertain guests on the weekends and major holidays. Not to mention, she barely needs any sleep and is an expert power napper. She never gets sick and is in peak health condition. 

Also, the older I have gotten, I realize that I have many Shirley tendencies. I can't name them off the top of my head, but they are there. And I am okay with it. She never ceases to amaze me. I owe her so much. 

Happy Mothers Day, Mom.

Love,