Christy and Her Mother

Tell us about one of your earliest memories of your mother. (妳對母親最早的記憶是甚麼?)

One of the earliest memories of my mother is when she took me on a series camping trips with the local community college when I was in early elementary school. She was a single mom, but that didn’t hold her back. She bought us a tent, sleeping bags, a propane stove, and a camping lantern. We would load up our little car and join with groups of nature-loving people out into the desert to go hiking, look for geodes, learn about desert plants and animals, and just enjoy the great outdoors. Those were really fun times!

Tell us about how your mother inspires you. (妳的母親／女兒如何激勵妳?)

My mother is a high energy and very active woman. From the moment she awakes to the moment she sleeps – so long as she is not at work – she is cleaning, cooking, or planning fun activities for us to do. She does not suffer from any lack of initiative, and most of the time, it does not even occur to her to be afraid. She is really a very positive person.

My mother is the eldest of five siblings from a small city in Southern Taiwan called “Ping-Tung” (屏東市). Her dad was a civil engineer that worked for the Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖) and her mom was a talented and beautiful stay-at-home mom. My mother was blessed with some amazing test-taking abilities, so she was able to attend the highest ranked high school and college in Taiwan. From what I hear, she was as energetic back then as she is now – buying a car and taking her classmates on hikes.

It was on one of these hikes during college that she happened to meet and fall in love with my dad. Though their marriage didn’t last very long, many great things eventually came from it. For one, being newly single, my mother was able to pursue her dream of moving to the United States. For another, she found herself in a position where she was searching for answers, and chose to commit herself to God through the Christian faith. And lastly, she had me as her daughter, whom she continued to raise as a single mom in a new country with our new faith.

I admire my mother for starting a new life for us here in the United States and giving us a life full of variety and adventure. She has since become re-married to a really wonderful man, and now works as an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Nothing holds her back! Her faith and positive spirit has carried us through till today.

As time has gone on, how has your relationship with your mother changed? (隨著年歲的增長，妳們母女關係有怎麼樣的變化?)

My relationship with my mother was definitely rocky in the past, so I totally understand it when people tell me they have difficulties relating with their moms. We often fought about really random things, and I didn’t really understand her very well back then.

Nonetheless, as I have grown older, I noticed how we both were able to work on our communication skills and understand each other better. I know now that my mother has my best in intentions in mind.

I notice how my mom has changed some of her habits too – the ones that used to make me nuts. I’ve also noticed how I started choosing not to react with annoyance or unmerited frustration to really little things that make no difference. So, we have a really great relationship now! And when I have any sort of trouble I can always count her to give me good, positive advice. I only wish that our relationship could have always been as good as it is now. Yet, nonetheless, I am grateful for how things have changed as I grew older.

What is one thing that you would like your mother to know? (有那件事是妳希望讓妳的母親／女兒知道的?)

I want my mother to know that she is a really amazing and very special person. I’m so grateful that God had chosen her to be my mother in this lifetime, and I’m really grateful for all the big choices that she has made that have changed our lives, including the choice to come to the United States and to become a Christian. I thank her for continuing to show me great friendship, and I love how she daily gives herself to me and others around her.