J and I have loved the hit ABC show Modern Family ever since my sister introduced us to it mid-first season. And over the past summer, as we patiently waited the new season by re-watching reruns, something began to dwell on us...
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A few days ago, the NYTimes ran a op-ed piece titled "Super People" that left me pondering its implications and reactions. If you have a few spare minutes, I highly encourage you to read the article. If you do not, this paragraph sums up what "Super People" are: A brochure arrives in the mail announcing this year’s winners of a prestigious fellowship to study abroad. The recipients are allotted a full page each, with a photo and a thick paragraph chronicling their achievements. It’s a select group to begin with, but even so, there doesn’t seem to be anyone on this list who hasn’t mastered at least one musical instrument; helped build a school or hospital in some foreign land; excelled...
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One of my biggest fears about becoming a parent to more than one kid is that I will, one day, find myself loving one child more. Is it possible to love all your children equally? Absolutely. But as today's Motherlode article, titled "Do ALL Parents Love One Child More?" states, MOST parents end up preferring one child over the others. This week's Time magazine which discusses the science of favoritism And I think that I have a valid reason to be concerned, because I have a predilection for — subconsciously or not — personally favoring the generally less favored. Case in point: a friend used to be the proud owner of two Yorkies. And while both were adorable in their own ways, it was clear that one was more...
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It has been exactly one week since J's parents arrived from Hong Kong to help me with the last few weeks of my pregnancy. They will stay in the U.S. and continue to help out for the next few months which will undoubtedly be tremendously difficult with two babies that are only 13 months apart. I have stated before that I don't have the best relationship with my in-laws. It's not that we don't get along — we do, but we are far from being BFFs and I still feel a bit uncomfortable around them. Add to that the language and cultural barriers, and the fact that I am a highly private person...
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Isn't it funny how you resist and even resent your parents growing up, and only when you become an adult — and more so, when you become a parent yourself — that you realize how wonderful they are? Many of my readers may already be aware that Korea has deep roots in Buddhism. When I was still living in my native country in the early 1980s, it was not unusual for Buddhist monks to go around to neighboring houses to chant prayers, and ask for donations — in the form of money or rice — in return. (image source) My mother raised my sister and I in the Christian Church, so I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. Because...
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