A Letter to My Precious Ones...

Dear Tato and Allie,
As a mother, there is nothing I want more than to give you the world, to watch as you squeal with delight at all the wonderment that life has to offer. But it is not without difficulties and a heavy heart as your dad and I decide to set this family on this amazing path. While the world is filled with indescribable beauty that stirs the chambers of the heart, it is not without evils that lashes out at innocent souls. My heart becomes heavily burdened thinking of the many ugly faces of evil, despair and destruction you may witness in your lifetime. I cringe at the idea of exposing you to such elements of life. But I will never forgive myself if I allowed you, or any of us to shy away from life, give up on having a life for fear of the unknown and uncertainties. In addition, for less selfish reasons than you think, I will not shy away from my dreams of traveling the world. The dreamer in me must continue to dream in order to give you even bigger dreams. The dream chaser in me must continue to chase after that dream in order to teach you to be resilient.  So mark my words kids. For you I will be brave. I will be resilient. I will give you the world!

In the case that you won't remember a thing from our travels when you grow up, here I offer my most treasured wisdom: 

• Life is lived. It's not watched on television or read in books.

• Believe in the infinite possibilities the world has to offer. The world is your limit.

• Never stop dreaming.

• Experience the magic and the mysteries that exists in the world. See it with your eyes. Feel it with your heart.

• Always have compassion.

• Learn from the people you have encountered, the cultures you have been exposed to, the places you have been to. 

• Last but not least, remember that: life is a canvas, so fill it up!

As for now, eat well and sleep tight my little ones, for you will need all your strength to receive the gift your dad and I will give you: the gift of travel; an admission into a world brimming with dreams, marvel, and miracles.

10 Things I Wish My Kids Would Know

Evenings in my house feels like a carnival. There are kids running around, toys are thrown everywhere, the aroma of some kind of stir fry radiating from the kitchen, kids crying, kids screaming, the phone ringing, music playing... The atmosphere is chaotic, frenetic, whimsical. But there is an important lesson that can be learned here: don't cry over spilled milk. There really is no time for that. 5PM-9PM reminds me of the trading floor on Wall Street. There is no time to stop and think, just do. Then 9PM hits and the kids are in bed and peace is restored in the household. That's when I walk around the house and appraise the damage. At that point, my house resembles the crime scene of a robbery. If there is a CSI:Taiwan, it should definitely be filmed in my house.

I'm not complaining because being a mom is still incredibly fulfilling. More fulfilling than any job I've ever had. (And I've had a lot of jobs.) But during those few rare moments of idleness, I can't help but wonder if my kids can distinguish between the sensible person that I am and the screaming, hair pulling, crazy women they encounter every evening. while they're still so young, there is no way to get them to understand the havoc they put me through everyday, but hopefully in time they will see my plight and realize the following: