I started a part time job at a day care center to fill my day while my daughter is away in school. This is my first job in eight years. I stayed home caring for my daughter enjoying every second of her life, but the day came one September morning that I felt a strong…
Carpet of Snow
I am in love with Carpet of Snow. I planted a small bag of carpet of snow seeds without much research, thinking that they will resemble something like those tall white flowers that adorn the beautiful bouquets I see at markets. It turns out carpet of snow grows only about 4 inches tall. But these…
Flowers & Garden
Series of dreams continued all through the night. In the last dream I had, I was back on the Big Island, as a tourist, walking along the familiar paths on my first day. I had some lunch and went shopping, then I was busy texting my friends to let them know that I was back….
You Could Still Fly
It was yet another morning I woke up in the dark valley. Have you ever woke up with a sinking feeling at the reminder of what had happened the night before? I woke up like that. I know there are many tragic events out there right now. I can’t even bring up my matter without…
Between a Book and a Flowery Place
Spring is deepening day by day and the long winter days of deep snow and frozen driveway are fading beyond the horizon of my memories. My dog is dozing lazily in the sunny spot on my deck and the flower seeds are hard at work diligently growing the shoots every day. I dry radish slices…
Running to Your Arms
When I close my eyes, I am running to the playground under the high summer heat of Tennessee sky. I am not trying to lose weight. No. Never that. If anything, I have to try to gain more weight. This is not my regular exercise regime that I practice to stay in shape physically or…
A Gift That Keeps on Giving
There are very few things that bring me joy. On top of the list is probably a box of Korean books freshly delivered straight from Seoul, my beloved city. The day my most recent order of books arrived, I was in the darkest mood I’ve felt in years. I ordered them a month ago, when…
Something Just Like This
Snow started falling sometime during early Sunday even before the sunrise. I woke up to a winter wonderland. It’s been snowing ever since and it is Tuesday now. It’s like a long dream that I do not want to wake from. I always daydream of flying to Finland and visiting Rovaniemi for a long winter….
Starlight
These past weeks, I have been asking myself this question: Do those Mount Athos monks know what is going on in the news? I ask this question because I am wondering myself how much I should permit myself to know or receive the media feed. It hurts to not know. It hurts to know. I…
Morning Messages
It was a rare morning. I got into a habit of sleeping in for a while now but that morning, I felt the strong urge to go down for some quiet time alone. It was a little after five in the morning. It was still as dark as a midnight as I sat alone under…