June with me — down with a fever

Guess who is down with a fever?

My second-born — KG!

Fortunately, his fever was not high enough, and we didn’t need to bring him to the urgent care even though I called the insurance company early to get a list of in-network clinics.
It started yesterday when we gathered at my brother’s house for the party. First, he didn’t eat much but knocked himself with three cans of soda without my permission. Then he ran around in the heat, and somehow his body was not too happy about being abused. Consequently, he ended up with a stomachache. So this morning, I went to my brother’s house early and checked on him. His fever temperature was around 102F. My mom has already made the must-have bland rice soup with some slices of ginger for him to quell the stomachache and restore his gut. I fed him and made sure he had some food to sooth the stomach. After that, Mr. O went out to meet and have a dinner with two of his colleagues, and my brother and sister-in-law took the other kids and mom to an indoor water park (the temperature was up to 100F with high humidity today!). It was just me staying behind to take care of the sick boy.

On his way home, Mr. O grabbed a box of chewable acetaminophen. We gave him two tablets and I think he is on the mend. However, KG wanted to stay at my brother’s home and did not want to come to the hotel with us.

I just told Mr. O that staying for three weeks is just too long of a time to be away from home. Next time, we need to shorten it to two. But Mr. O differed; he said the three-week stay is for the boys to have more time with their extended families.

I really miss our home in California.

June with me — Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day!

My older brother combine Father’s Day with my niece’s graduation. As always, there were plenty of food that would feed a whole village.

Mr. O and I left early because he has a meeting a 8 p.m. He dropped me off at the hotel and this is all I wanted. Now I am watching The Bridgeton, season 2. I still like season 1 better.

But apparently, I am hungry and really want to have another bowl of beef phở.

June with me — the two mothers

Finally, after their first meeting in 2006, my mom and mother-in-law met each other once again today. They have been living very physically close to each other for a few years, but we didn’t make the arrangement for them to meet. Then the pandemic hit, and as we all know, social gatherings were a luxury.

My mother-in-law is very weak and frail, but my mom is on the opposite end even though they are both of the same age. Today, my mother-in-law felt a bit more motivated after seeing how vivacious and energetic my mom was. She got up from her seat on the couch, where she usually sits all day long, then walked a few steps independently before her knees gave in.

The two mothers have language barriers, so three languages were used in their conversations. However, while translations might be off with linguistical nuances, both mothers seemed happy to share their stories. My mother-in-law even offered to take my mom to Italy, where she used to live for a few years and still has some best friends and relatives. My mom encouraged my mother-in-law to get healthier so they could travel together. It’s really funny to see two women at the age of 80 sitting together and laughing at each other’s jokes, albeit through two layers of translations that moved between three languages.

Before we bid goodbye, my mother-in-law invited my mother to come over more often, even without Mr. O and me in town, so they could talk about their kids and grandkids. I don’t know how they would have a conversation without some translations, though.

My mom also adored Mr. O’s nieces and nephews. So we gathered some of them to take photos with my mom. One other niece was very shy, and she didn’t want to have her face in the photos.

Well, look at the beautiful blending of cultures and ethnicities! This is a great way to teach children cross-cultural interactions, understanding, and not to be afraid of “the other” as our society has become more diverse.

We left my boys and a nephew to have an overnight stay at my sister-in-law’s home for the night. They went to a community festival together. I cannot wait to hear how it went for all of them.

P.S. I am sorry, but K.G.’s face is just ridiculously funny. He, too, didn’t want to be in the photos, so he kept making grumpy faces.

P.S.S. Mr. O and I had a double dinner date with our friends in South Minneapolis. I had a Cuban mojito.