A Year Slipped By

Looking back on my previous post, a year of time has slipped through my fingers. Actually a lot has happened within this past year.

First of all, we bought a house!

Not long after that, Brandon turned 1!

Then I got a job as a music teacher at a preschool-kindergarten and worked there for a semester.

During that four months, while my paycheck was the second best thing for our family, I lost the first best thing, which was time with my children. Everyday, I found myself acting like a strict military officer rather than a fun and loving mom.

In the morning,

"Hurry and wake up!"
"Hurry and get dressed!"
"Hurry and eat your breakfast!"
"Hurry and get your belongings ready!"

In the afternoon after I picked up the kids,

"Hurry and eat your dinner!"
"Hurry to take your bath, stop playing!"
"Hurry and go to bed!"

While working at the school was fun because I got to meet many wonderful teachers and super adorable children, I didn't feel at peace. Many times while driving to work, I would listen to online sermons that would just make me tear up. I felt that I couldn't spend quality time with my children day in and day out. I felt like I was always antsy and short tempered with Sophie and Brandon, and I was constantly trying to hurry them on so they could fit into my schedule.

However, the thing that urged me to resign wasn't quite just this. My dear mother-in-law was actually diagnosed with 1st stage breast cancer during the same time. She and my father-in-law live all the way in Hong Kong. I thought about how she helped and blessed us the past decade with her love, and I thought about the fact that I only have one mother-in-law, but I could have many jobs throughout my lifetime. I thought that it would cheer her up greatly if she could spend time with her grandchildren during this upstream battle with cancer. For that reason, I quit. I took both kids to live in Hong Kong with my in-laws for two months, and it was a blessed and unforgettable time for all of us.

3 days after we came back to the States, Sophie turned 3! We celebrated her birthday early while we were still in Hong Kong. Daddy also reunited with us, and we were all very glad!

The kids grew up a lot in Hong Kong. They are more independent, self-motivated and understanding. The best of all was that they got Mommy back -- the old mommy who would play with them, read with them, and draw with them, not the military officer lady who was saying "hurry" all the time. ^_~

So here I am, becoming a stay-home mom once again, and loving every day with my two little buttons. I am more grateful to be a mom than ever before. The time I have with them is fleeting. I won't even mind being ambitious and try homeschooling. They're learning together on sharing, being focused on doing tasks, reading books, singing songs, cooking and baking with Mommy, and above all, they're feeling loved, all the time, every day.

Different moms have different callings, I am not saying that everyone should do this motherhood thing the same way. I am simply writing my own story and composing my own songs and living out my own callings.

In a week, Brandon is going to be 2! Wow, time certainly flies.