Responses and Animal Sounds
RESPONSES and UPDATES: RE: Evolving Evie...and Lien - I had a long internal debate on whether or not to post my picture but in the end I figured that the first step to acknowledging that I'm "not ugly" is to just open up and acknowledge that hey, this is what I look like. This is me. Just as I accept and respect not only Evie, but everyone around me, so too should I accept and respect myself.
Thanks to everyone who commented with compliments and words of encouragement as well as for sharing your own horror stories of mean classmates. Kids really are cruel and I shared your stories and comments with Evie who smiled and seemed pleased that she isn't alone.
Special thanks to HM for the fantastic link! It is hard this parenting thing, especially when you're working on yourself as well.
RE: Birthday wishes - Thank you for all the happy birthday wishes and facebook pokes. J and I spent a weekend away from the kids at one of the Westin hotels in San Francisco. He surprised me with a vase of flowers delivered directly to our room. We spent the weekend sleeping in and watching the Discovery Channel and Groundhog Day. We then had lunch and dinner at two fancy "Vietnamese" restaurants; The Slanted Door for lunch and Thanh Long for dinner with friends. Both reminded me that hey! this tastes like my mom's cooking!
Finally...RE: My aunt - Still no word on whether or not the authorities in Vietnam have done anything. It's pretty clear that my aunt has suffered some brain damage. She can no longer stand with assistance as her head hurts when she does and she can no longer move without shaking. In other words, she will probably not be able to work...for a long time. The horror of this event has made our lunar new year celebrations nonexistent. No one in the family has been in the mood for celebrating. My grandma still has no idea that her youngest daughter has been hurt. I don't know how long we can keep this secret from her. Everyone is afraid of her worrying and demanding to go back to Vietnam only to worry some more. J mentioned how wrong it was that no one is telling her what happened. If something horrible happened to our kids, we would want to know right away. We would be angry and upset with anyone who kept that sort of information from us. There IS no justification for keeping my grandma in the dark. No justification except that we would fear for her health and state of mind.
A few days ago I thought of my aunt and how she looks very similar to my mom. I imagined my mom's face bloodied and bruised and I couldn't stop crying at the thought that my aunt will probably not be able to live her life without pain again; will not be able to return to her business for a long time. She was the sole breadwinner for her family. I come from a long line of strong women who support our husbands and families in times when they are down and out. All this seems so very unfair, unjustified, and hopeless considering the lack of response from the Vietnamese authorities. Being so far away, "helpless"; that is indeed how we are feeling here. I told my mom about all your comments and wishes and they are so very appreciated.
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ANIMAL SOUNDS
Anyhoo, it's been depressing around here...but hey, that's what toddlers are for. JT is my little ball of energy and still speaks toddlerese with a smattering of English and Vietnamese. He's very bright but mischievious and loves to joke and laugh. He disarms me with his charm every time. Yesterday morning, I was tired from a long work and school week. JT woke me up and we ended up making talking about animal sounds before I decided to record him on video. He currently knows that Cows say "moo", chickens say "bawk!", ducks say "quack", pigs say "oink", and sheep say "baa". But obviously, when on camera, one has to be dramatic and moo and bawk! are SO much more fun to say than all those other ones.
For some reason the video keeps getting lighter or dimmer and the title clips are off centered. I don't know if it's my camera or my video editing software. Hmm...might just be user error.
4 comments:
I am so sorry to hear about your aunt. Hopefully her body will continue to heal and maybe she will surprise you and recover more fully with time.
I know it's not my place to say, but I would encourage you to tell her mother what has happened. My dad's parents used to play the same game so as to not worry him and his brother - in the end it almost always caused hurt feelings and mistrust. She has a right to want to nurture and help her child.
That video is great, he is so cute! I loved the sad face he made when you told him he couldn't see it until afterwards, it a look of complete tragedy.
Thanks so much for the update and the news regarding your aunt.I am so very sorry to read that her recovery will probably take a while. And to add to the stress and worry, the issue regarding your grandmother, it's a really tough call, but it may be best if her children make the decision,I definitely see your point about telling her, that's what I would want to do too.
Happy Belated Birthday! I'm so happy you had a lovely weekend away, lucky you. I hope Evie is feeling better about herself, what a little sweetheart. Your little JT is adorable. You are such an amazing woman to handle so many responsibilities with such empathy,love and courage, I truly admire your strength.Sending you warm hugs, please take care of yourself.
I hope your aunt will get better soon. It's hard to decide whether to tell your grandma such horrible news when she's so far away from her daughter. I do agree she should know at some point but if I was in your shoes I would be reluctant to tell her at this stage mainly due to her age and health and especially when her daughter was still very fragile after the incident. Maybe wait until your aunt gets a bit better and then tell your grandma and she won't be too worried hopefully.
P.S: Is it the R2D2 t-shirt JT was wearing in the video? He's soooo cute. x
Oh my JT is adorable AND hysterical.
I'm so sorry to hear about your aunt... this must be so devastating for your whole family and you are all in my thoughts.
After my mom died, my aunts didn't tell my grandmother for weeks. Which was absolutely horrific to me. If I had seen her during that time, I would have told her. But their reasoning was that she was about to have surgery, and they didn't want her to be stressed or upset before it. They didn't want her to lose hope or lose the will to fight.
When they finally told her, she accepted their reasoning, and understood. Still, it was awful to me. I'm not sure if it's an Asian thing -- for that reasoning to be acceptable -- but it would be unforgivable to me. I'm glad that she understood though.
I hope your aunt continues on her road to recovery and those bastards get what they deserve.
And Happy Birthday again! Yay for J planning such a special weekend away.
Glad you liked the link. I'm still fascinated by it.
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