It is hard to lose a dear friend like Mrs. Siu.  She was a close friend of my mother's and they would chat often.  When one wouldn't hear from the other, they would worry about each other. They were able to share their life stories and experiences, concerns and happy moments.  When my mother passed and I was missing her, Mrs. Siu told me how much she missed my mom too.  Mrs. Siu became a link to my mom.  She made me feel that a part of my mom was still here.  
Mrs. Siu lived a long and fulfilling life.  She had a positive attitude towards life, and I've learned from her to see the good in things.  She loved her family and was proud of each and every one of them.  I've learned from her to just do my best, and to appreciate all that life has given us.  Mrs. Siu had the most beautiful smile and I will miss that.  I will also miss our conversations.  I will miss the sound of her voice.  She was so kind to all my family, and they also remember her smile and friendship.
So, as hard as it is to say goodbye to Mrs. Siu, I take comfort knowing that she was happy with her life and filled with gratitude. I take comfort knowing that she and my mom are enjoying each other's conversations once again... friends reunited.

It's impossible to talk about my parent's story without recognizing that their journey is an important part of our nation's history.  The Siu's are a group of proud immigrants who like many others, of many colors, nationalities and races, faced seemingly insurmountable challenges as they struggled to make a new life in the US.  They came to pursue their dreams as they learned about this amazing land of opportunity, but they were greeted with racism and in humane treatment. (I think about whether I could have survived being below deck on a ship for weeks on end without a friendly face in sight to then arrive in a foreign land where I would sit in a jail cell for months before being released.)  So often you hear about how racism defeats us.  Our parent's success reminds us that the challenges of racism (at least some of it) can be overcome. 

In 2012, the Angel Island Immigration Foundation opened the Angel Island Immigration Station historical museum.  Please take a minute to click on this link to read more about the significance of the Station, especially the stories of immigrants from Guangdong Province in southern China who fled from a land stricken by both natural and man-made disasters and a collapsing rural economy. This plaque in the photo memorializes our parents journey with their two paper sons, Phillip and Wayne.   For many years, this was a story that we could not tell; and even to the end of her life, when asked where my dad was born, my mom would reply "Hawaii".

When our world allows us to meet again in person, we hope to meet you on Angel Island to celebrate our parents' lives and the lives of our family and friends who will be "forever missed".  Stay posted for more information.

Dear Baw Baw, 

I have so many memories of growing up with you.  Coming home to your house from elementary school (if you weren't home, I would go to grandma Kwen Serng's house until you came to pick me up), eating fruit after dinner, and then listening to Chinese soap operas while falling asleep.  I had the most fun learning how to make different chinese snacks (jian dui, chinese white cookies, joong) and picking fruit at harvest time.  It was always amazing to me how we would make or harvest so much and then you would share it out to so many different people. 
You loved sharing your wisdom with the grandkids too.  Though it was hard to listen all the time, I know you only wanted the best for us.  I hope I can continue to make you proud. 

It was handy that Mom's birthday was on a Federal holiday.   Because everyone had the day off and it was in the middle of summer, it was always a great reason for us to get together and over eat!  Our parties were smaller than in the olden days, but it seems like we had  the same amount of food to choose from.

This year was really very different.   Because her health was declining and because of the pandemic, we ended up celebrating in shifts and by family bubbles.  This was a photo from Arthur and his gang who took the lunch shift.  You can tell that this photo was taken with social distancing and face coverings in mind.   Mom was very mindful of how important face coverings were.   In fact, a few days before she passed, she made sure that she had her face covering on before she held her youngest Great Grandson, Ronan.

When I was young, I was always horrified by our dad because he would do his Tai Chi exercises in the big picture window.  I was convinced that everyone in the neighborhood would think that we were weirdo's because they could see him from the street.  Little did I know that he was a trend setter!   Our dad also took daily walks for miles in our neighborhood.

Mom was convinced that exercise was key to good living and longevity.   This is a photo of mom trying to keep our dad going by dancing with him, even when he was aging and not very steady on his feet. Up until one month ago, my mom easily walked up her front steps (over 25 steps) without pause.  This past Christmas, we were trying to figure out who would walk her down Arthur and Donna's front steps.  By the time we figured it out, Mom already made her way down.  Whoops...  And, until her last week, Mom exercised her feet with a foot roller and did breathing exercises several times a day.  No surprise, Mom stayed physically active and her mind stayed sharp until she passed.

I guess there is something to all this exercise. 

This photo of Mom in her garden picking persimmons reminds me of her love of plants and her "can do attitude".  Until recently, she'd use her homemade fruit picker to pick loquats, lemons, and other fruit in her yard.    Whether Mom was growing flowers or fruit trees, there was no question that she had a green thumb.  Many of the roses that she had in her garden came from cuttings.  She told me that her secret was to burn the ends and then put it in the ground.  She used a similar technique to graft fruit trees together.  At one point she had at least 20 cynbidium orchids flowering in her yard in addition to many indoor orchids.  She didn't use any fancy fertilizers, potting soil or anything, but her orchids were always blooming.  The biggest showpiece in her garden though were her pink peonies.

About 14 years ago, we arranged to have a videographer visit with mom for a day. The idea was to capture her story so that future generations could hear directly from her. Since then, she's told many people about "the Video" and we've had several viewings.  It covers everything from her life as a young girl to life on the boat and her life philosophies. This video was one of her favorite creations and something that we will always treasure.

When we were growing up, we would regularly host parties for 50 to 100 people at a time. We'd have tables inside and outside for everyone. My mom and her besties would make our favorite party specialities which included Rosettes.  How a group of Chinese women ended up making Scandanavian cookies is a mystery to me, but here's a link to a recipe and photo to jog memories.