We took M to Los Angeles (and Portland) for a three-week holiday. I'm still thinking of the time spent with my family in California, the sunshine, the ocean, the tamale-filled festivities. One day, while staying at my sister's house, we walked to the neighborhood pokē restaurant. It was a breezy 80 degree day, in late December. I stared up at the towering palm trees and my thoughts swirled around how cold it must be in DC.
I always enjoy time with family but, with M now in our lives, those interactions take on another level of meaning for me (sorry if that sounds blow-hardy). I'm starting to wonder if I would be fine with my daughter seeing her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents -- in many ways, her (and my) cultural anchors - once or twice a year tops. I'm not so sure. Yet, I'm not exactly ready to move back to California either.
There are other things I'm thinking about, some more frivolous than others, but someone is calling for me.
And my time is up.
There are other things I'm thinking about, some more frivolous than others, but someone is calling for me.
And my time is up.
Isn't it nice going back West to visit family and friends. I can just imagine it when you're in a new phase of our life with a child. Culturally, it's nice to be acquainted with cousins and other relatives at a young age and building memories with them as you grow older. I always admire when people are able to stay in one place to retain family culture and relationships. But it's tough when you're the type of person whose heart is somewhere else at the moment. At least you're able to visit occasionally, cherish that!
ReplyDeletePS: It's been awhile, glad to know you're still blogging. I miss your Cambodia blog entries. Hope that DC life is going well! - eunice
Eunice! How are you? I hope you are well. Cambodia feels like a lifetime ago. It's crazy.
DeleteIt's crazy how warm it is in California this winter!
ReplyDeleteI miss so much about the West Coast, but I am now making friends and embedding our family in Toronto. It is very very hard to be away from family, especially as people grow older and need more support. And young families need support. The boys won't know their grandparents or cousins well, and many of our family rituals and traditions have had to be reinvented at a smaller scale. That makes me sad, but then I think about how my parents left their family and country behind. I guess at this point I'm also an immigrant. Is it a mistake to be so far from home? We'll never know.
Hi Erica, I'm really slow to create a bona fide "community," but I can see how that would tether me to a place.
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