aiyah

My group of friends, they luuuv hot tubs. I never understood it, until I started using it again. It’s pretty nice to relax on a cool day in a warm tub with bubbles, drinking wine with friends, and waiting for your finger tips to wrinkle like raisins.

My mother rarely approves of any small or large achievements. My sisters think it is ‘the Asian thing’, but I honestly believe it’s ‘the Catholic thing.’ On a rare opportunity, she excitedly approved of the quarter acre I purchased, and oh, isn’t it lovely the house came with it. For the past six months, during my time off from a real job, I have been gardening at least five hours a day. The last time I gardened I was 16, and I had one goal – to give my grandmother something to do. We planted roses and vegetables, and we split the tasks of digging and seeding. I, as she spoke no English and had little social activities. I think raising the nine grandchildren got really old after the fifth was born.

Gardening became my grandmother’s passion for her remaining twelve years. Our backyard became a sea of roses and fruit trees. I still giggle now when I think of the visit to this house ten years later. She had planted her small rose bushes and trees so close together, the neglected yard looked like the stage set for a scene requiring an evil forest.

I have been gardening at least five hours each day for the past six months. I am obsessive with it. I realized I am my grandmother’s descendent. I planted my flowers, herbs and trees too close together. I prefer pulling weeds with my bare hands. And I squat when I garden, just as my Vietnamese grandmother did.

Intelligent, Stubborn, Kind, Passionate, Patient, Lazy, Understanding, Easy-Going, Grumpy, Compassionate, Free-Thinking, Worldly, Grounded, Caring, Messy, Handsome, Youthful, Wise, Fun, Loving, Like-Minded, Strong, Weak, Independent, Needy, Materialistic, Non-Materialistic, Loyal.