On a regular Wednesday, right before news of the global pandemic of COVID-19 started filling my social media timelines, I picked my youngest up from preschool. We walked across the parking lot, her navy-blue backpack covered in colorful cat faces hanging from her shoulders, almost reaching the backside of her knees. She had blue paint […]
My Mom’s Love Letter: Ojinguh over Fire
by on August 5, 2018 Leave a Comment
When I was a teenager living in the Midwest, I ate dried squid in the winter. My mom would roast the ojinguh in our fireplace while cups of Swiss Miss hot cocoa grew cold waiting on a coffee table close by. Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus sat on our mantel above the fireplace where she […]
Transitions are Storytellers
by on June 3, 2018 18 Comments
The summer I turned five, my parents emptied our home into brown boxes and scattered loose items throughout our garage and driveway for a summer garage sale. Strangers pulled up and parked around our cul-de-sac in small clusters and made their way in and out of our garage in waves. I watched them browse and […]
For the Ones in Hiding
by on May 6, 2018 4 Comments
I remember how the fear would thicken at night. After “lights out” I would lie still, wondering if tonight was the night I wouldn’t be afraid. Seconds later I would be under my sheets, the heat of my breath warming my face. I longed for cool air on my cheeks. I longed to be free […]
Only One Stranger
by on April 8, 2018 7 Comments
My family lived in a Tokyo suburb for my early years of elementary school. I attended an American school and we lived in a modern, pale concrete-colored bottom floor house while our landlords, a young Japanese couple, lived above us. Just a short walk around the corner was my favorite donut shop, Mister Donut, and […]
