May 23/09 – I made a decision to write my Mother’s biography as my tribute to her for doing such an amazing job raising us. I knew that I didn’t have the technical background to do it. So, my solution was to take up some writing courses. I went to the 8-hr Memoir Writing Class and the 8-hr Writing from Scratch Class. I also joined a writing club. Below are my “output” during the classes.
Headache – 20 mins of writing
I admit I am the child that has given my mom the most headache ever since I was a teenager….
My dad died when I was 12 years old, an incident that affected me greatly. I started high school at 13 and started hanging out with the wrong group of people so I started skipping classes. But my conscience was telling me that it was wrong therefore I decided to move away from Vancouver for a change. My Mom then sent me to Winnipeg to live with my grandmother till I could finish high school. But after a few months, I felt that Winnipeg was too cold and boring for me so I decided to come back to Van again.
After I came back, I only gave Mom a year of break before I went home one day to tell her that I wanted to get married and so needed her to sign the paper for me because I was only 16 years old. She couldn’t do anything. I was adamant.
My husband and I went to work in St. Louis in the States after we got married. My Mom was sad that I was leaving but again, there was nothing that she could do. But this move only lasted 6 months. During this time, I told her that I was breaking up with my husband. She didn’t give in as easily as before so she flew down to the States and demanded that my husband and I came home with her and I continued my high school (another 18 months before I graduated). She was helping us resolve our differences so we could stay married.
After I finished high school, we had the traditional Chinese wedding banquet, an event the Chinese consider as much bigger than the wedding ceremony itself. For me, it was a form of a commitment to make my marriage work. However, the marriage lasted for 7 years only before I decided for a divorce. As for my Mom, I told it to her only after I had made up my mind.
Now, Mom tells everyone that Amy is the smartest; Amy is the kindest; Amy loves her the most; Amy buys her the most expensive gifts. BUT Amy was also the one that gave her the most “headaches.” Mom is still worried about me now because I am single while her other 3 kids are happily married. She feels a person will for sure be happier if he or she has a significant other.
I imagine – 2 mins of writing
I imagine how great it would be once I am all settled into my new house this summer. A new chapter of my life will then begin. It seems like there are so much that I am can look forward to. At the same time, I am very curious to know how long I can last being retired. I am also very excited and very hopeful about my future especially now that I have found a new “vehicle” which I am confident will be THE vehicle that could get me to the “Joy Road” I have always wish to ride on…
Rain – 2 mins of writing
Vancouver is very beautiful when it isn’t raining. If I were to guess then we must have 200 days of rain a year here. My goal is to be away 150 out of these 200 rainy days after I retire… Now that I have made the commitment to complete all the ESP classes, I will naturally be spending a lot of time in the warm and dry Mexico City in the near future…
I believe – 2 mins of writing
I believe I will become more and more joyful as days goes on. After ESP, I believe I can never look at my life the way I used to anymore. I believe that as I grow wiser and as I become a better person, all those around me will feel my changes and will be getting direct or indirect benefit too because of the domino effect that these changes will bring…
Tell me about a time you ate salmon – 10 mins of writing
My mom used to own a Japanese restaurant. I remember watching how salmon sashimi was prepared. I remember seeing how she would clean it, how she would take the skin and bone out then wrap it up and put it in the freezer. Perhaps seeing that same process a few times a week for so many years is what made me sick of salmon. I don’t remember ever eating a piece bigger than the size of my pinky finger in a long time. I don’t care about the taste or texture of it. I will never order salmon for lunch or dinner. I prefer rock cod or halibut over salmon any day.
Pants – 10 mins of writing
Other than being in construction sites or working in the kitchen, I don’t remember seeing Mom wearing pants a lot . She seems to like wearing dresses or skirts more. I agree that she does look very elegant and classy in her dresses. Her favourite colour for evening gown seems to be black. She is 5’7″ which is considered tall for Asian women. She has a very fit body all the way till she turned 60. I suspect she really misses her old figure which is why she is on the trend mill an hour a day in the morning and walks for another 2 hrs in the evening. Unfortunately, she doesn’t realize that age is something very hard to fight against…. She has achieved so much in her life and has done so much for others. So to me, she has always been and will always be beautiful for who she is regardless of how different her figure will become…