Interesting Facts about Lunar New Year I created a 1-pager that contains 8 (8 is a lucky number for the Chinese) key points on the Lunar New Year on one side and a little tutorial on stroke order for the tiger character in Chinese plus a fun Word Search activity on the other side. This piece is great for sharing with kids and raise their interest and appreciation at an early age of the East Asian cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year! The information contained in my blog post below is lengthier and couldn’t be jammed in to a 1-page document about Lunar New Year.  Thank you for ..read more

What a beautiful day is this Mother’s Day. A day that wouldn’t be possible for me Had I not been born to my beautiful mom. This is my first Mother’s Day without her. I did go to see her at the cemetary today. Told her that we all missed her. That she’d be proud to know How well her granddaughter is doing. I do miss her but I have to remember That her life with crippled body and crippled memories Were not a great way to go about living her days. My visit with her today ended With a prayer that she is now happily Spending eternity with her mother, father, brother And the rest of her ancestors. I ..read more

If you’ve been following my blog and saw my Lunar New Year post from last year, the Year of the Tiger, you won’t be surprised with this post. This is my annual tradition. When I possted about the Year of the Tiger, I was free of the winter blues.  But….I did experience the blues afterwards, unfortunately.  And I’m hoping to fight off the blues this winter because now I have a higher risk for it, since both my parents passed away.  My father on Christmas Day and my mom 11 days later.  If you read my last blog post, you’d know that she was admitted to hospice on 1/2.  S ..read more

My father (who’d had a stroke back in 2019 and has been deteriorating from a mental and physical standpoint for the past 3-1/2 yrs) passed away suddenly on Christmas Day from cardiac arrest. He’d tested positive for COVID (caught from our aide) before Christmas, but didn’t have a fever or any other sign except for lethargy. Our aide told me it’d be better if I didn’t come over because I could get COVID and bring to my family on Christmas. On the morning of 12/26, I was supposed to take him to an urgent care if he was still lethargic. But I never had the chance. We buried him on New Year’s Eve ..read more

As the freezing weather begins–my least favorite time of the year–I wanted to do what I usually like to do in November, the month of thanks.  It shouldn’t just be a day of thanks on Thanksgiving Day.  Then again, it also shouldn’t just be a month of thanks, either.  But hey, it’s better than just the one day, right? WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?  I’m grateful for the following. I’m grateful for my family’s health. I’m grateful for my family’s home and the town we live in. I’m grateful for my job, even though sometimes I want to lose my mind from the stress it causes. I’m gra ..read more

Tickets are available now for the 4th annual LUNAFEST®proudly presented by the New Jersey Chapter of Postpartum Support International (PSI). Once again, the event will be hybrid.  If you are in New Jersey, you can participate  in person.  If you don’t live in the New Jersey and/or would prefer to participate from the comfort of your home, you can participate virtually!  Please consider buying a ticket to support a wonderful cause! IN-PERSON:When: Friday, November 4, 2022; Meet & Greet Reception @ 7:30 pm; Films begin @ 8:00 pm Where: The Woodland, 60 Woodland Road ..read more

In the sage words of Karen Kleiman of the Postpartum Stress Center, “Mother’s Day is really just a reminder that we should all honor our individual stories and take good care of ourselfs. Every. Day.” Yes, yes, a million times, yes! I haven’t been blogging as much lately, and just wanted to quickly share this with you…whoever is still following my blog.  I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day today.  And every day! Sharing with permission from Karen Kleiman                       ..read more

I must be blue if…. Spring time, the usual gamechanger for me ……doesn’t make me smile ……doesn’t make me feel better ……doesn’t make me feel excitement of the return of ………………………………color ………………………………………warmth …………………………………………………..sunshine ……………………………………………………………….. birds chirping ………………………………………………………………………………………..flowers blooming I don’t hum with the music that I normally love to hear. I can’t laugh at things I’d normally laugh about. I must find a way to prevent the downward slide toward depression where I can’t eat or sleep, just a hyperfocus on how to disappear. I’ve been there before, and i ..read more

I have a new goal And that goal is to live until I’m 75 latest. After that I don’t think I want to live anymore. If I die of natural causes before 75, great. I don’t want to have a long life because I know I’d run out of funds from expensive long-term care. Plus assisted living care is not for me. I don’t want to be lonely. Nor do I want to be a burden on anyone else Financially, mentally, physically. I’m going to take my bucket list and make sure that I hit each item on the list before I reach 75…. All my work aspirations, All my travel goals. It is too painful to deal with my parents’ health ..read more

I’m back after a little break from blogging! If you’ve been following my blog and saw my Lunar New Year post from last year, the Year of the Ox, you won’t be surprised with this post. If you’re thinking I’m going to make an annual tradition out of this, you’re right! Unlike last year, I’m not struggling with the blues this winter, yay! And unlike last year, I’m now going to my NYC office twice a week. With the never-ending news of Asians of all ages being attacked, you bet I’m on high alert while walking on sidewalks, in Port Authority, and in the subways!  Like last year, I’m still parti ..read more