As the daughter of farmers, my mom transformed our yard (we lived no where near an Asian grocery) into a sustainable farm to grow her own perilla leaves (깻잎) & varieties of lettuce for ssam (쌈). She made her own gochujang (고추장) & doenjang (된장) in claypots, 1/

and of course her own varieties of kimchi that ensured every part of every vegetable was used. After a day at the public library, she would take us to the neighboring park to pick up acorns so that she could make the extremely labor intensive dotori-muk (도토리묵). 2/

My mom was and still is a master in spotting that high quality dress in Goodwill, and repurposing it to turn it into something new. To keep my sisters and I well dressed without spending a fortune, of course, but equally to minimize waste. 3/

She knitted beautiful sweaters and dresses for us and herself. She returned to knitting after my dad passed away. I actually never need to buy a sweater again, and many of our friends now have hats, scarves, and baby blankets made by her hands. 4/

Even w/English as her second language, my mom somehow found every opportunity to keep us having fun & learning for free. She spent entire summer days with us in the A/C’d public library so that we could compete for a spot in the 100-book-club pizza party (w/magician!), 5/

but more importantly, so that we would love to read, and love to learn. We watched movies there, too. I swear I would not have seen most Disney movies as a kid if it weren't for that library. 6/

We went crabbing at the dike. My dad would be the one to sneak up on and catch the crabs, but my mom would be the one to have perfectly wrapped kimbap (김밥), doritos, and ice cold coca-colas prepared for the entire day. What fun is crabbing without the snacks? 7/

Anyone who knows or has even briefly met my mom knows that she will quietly disappear from the group to start cleaning the grit you didn't know existed in whatever space you may be in, while making sure that any veggie about to go bad is forever saved in a pancake or a kimchi. 8/

This is not "work" for her, so don't bother stopping her. Nothing has or ever will stop her. 9/

Folks call me a busy beaver, but I simply don't compare to my mother. As an immigrant, she has never had the privilege to stop. She has also never truly done anything purely for herself. 10/

But the reality is doing things for other people is actually her way of doing things for herself. In an alternate world, my mom would be the owner of a sustainable farm w/a library and free educational programs, run on renewable energy sources, of course. 11/

My mother has paid her dues to say the least, and should be retired. But no. After moving to Philadelphia on her own, she found a new job within 2 days. She is now a home health aid taking care of elderly people who depend on her. She takes the subway. 12/

But if there's anyone I trust to properly sanitize, it's her. I'm glad these grandmas have her. 13/

Everywhere she goes, the people around my mom latch on to her, and begin to rely on her. Perhaps because she loves to learn & can adapt to pretty much any situation. But also because she very quickly cares about you, the space you're in, & all of the people connected to you. 14/

How lucky am I that this reliable human be my own mom?
Happy mother's day mamma! Yes, my sisters and I have always, and will always, call our mom MAMMA! 15/15