INTRO
Today my Social Saturday guest is Christin Lee from Insider Envy. Christin approached me to see if I'd be interested in her writing a guest post, and I was a little tentative because she is younger than my usual demographic. But she sent me this wonderful post and I just had to share it - her Mum sounds lovely and it warmed my heart to read the love shown in Christin's words. I hope you enjoy it too.
MY MOTHER
My mother is probably one of the coolest women I know. She’s someone I’ve looked up to my entire life and I can’t express how much she’s shaped me to be the woman I am today. She’s almost 53 years old now and she’s still the amazing person she was 30 years ago.My mom is from Korea. She came to the United States when she was 20 years old and gave birth almost immediately to my older sister, Michelle. I was born shortly after as my younger sister, Annie, quickly followed. My mom’s sister passed away during that time and we adopted her only daughter, Anna. We are a family of all girls: my mom, Michelle, me, Annie, and Anna. The only male in our family is our dog, Sahn, which means mountain in Korean.
Christin Lee and her Mum and family |
MEDITATION
Just the other day my mom was watching a YouTube video on her phone. I asked her who she was listening to when she quickly responded “my guru” before prancing away smiling into her room secretly. She’s got a silly childlike personality that still surprises me to this day. She keeps youthful by continuing to dig and learn about herself and new ideas.More importantly, my mom starts her day with a morning meditation. She lays in bed, awake, breathing. When she’s finished, she gets up and gets ready to start the day. She also goes on daily mindful walks with my dog around the park. It’s no surprise she has a deep connection with not only my dog, but also with nature. A couple years ago, I accompanied my mom on a walk at the local park. We were making our regular loop around the field when suddenly, my dog started furiously barking at a squirrel in a nearby tree. The squirrel ran up and down the branches for 2 minutes and then quickly jumped out of the tree. It frantically scurried on the ground for a couple seconds and then up into another tree. My dog bared his teeth and pounced on the squirrel, missing it by just a hair despite our efforts to pull him back on his leash. My mother said “That must have been a young squirrel. An old squirrel would have stayed in the tree branches until we passed. He was scared and impatient.”
CALM
My mom’s ability to stay calm in any situation inspires me. There’s something about a mother’s words that can make clear of any situation. Yet I’ll be honest and say I’ve seen my mother evolve. She wasn’t always the warm and loving figure she is now. Sometimes she was full of anger and hatred. She’s made mistakes, but somehow she learned from them and found better outlets then taking it out on us. Through so many conversations, she learned to communicate with her children who grew up with foreign language and a completely different culture. My mom no longer yells or has to punish us. Her rule is more gentle now, however it’s still stern. She takes time to understand and listen. Her aura and energy is always bright no matter what situation we face. We all respect her so much. I know I can always count on her to be there.SPACE
My mom has always made sure to have her own space. No matter how hectic things get, my mom draws her boundaries. When I ask her to go to dinner or to join me at a cafe, she rarely says yes. She makes sure that she has time for herself and the things she wants to do. In any case, when I do get to spend time with her, it makes it all the more enjoyable.BEAUTY
Strangely, I feel my mom has always had control of time in her own way. My mom looks young enough to be older sister. She’s always in her room self-massaging her body with coconut or jojoba oil and making sure her skin is moisturized. Not a week goes by where I don’t see her in a face mask. After a long day, she often asks me to scrub her back with a Korean exfoliating mitt in her hot bath.Her favorite outlet is playing golf and although she doesn’t have many friends she makes sure to keep her loved ones close. She makes sure to take care of herself by keeping active and keeping her stress levels low. Whether she’s painting her nails or dying her gray hairs away with Henna, she finds ways to make herself happy.
IT'S IN THE LITTLE THINGS
It’s really the little things that my mother does that really touch me. She’s always visiting her parents and making sure they’re okay. She adds humour and light to every situation. It makes me so happy to come home and see her. Sometimes when I look at her, I see a young girl, not my mother.Christin Lee and where you can find her:
Christin Lee is a yoga instructor, entrepreneur, and lifestyle blogger living in NYC with a passion for universal human rights. She is an editor at InsiderEnvy, a site focused on travel, health, and eyecare and writes review for contacts, beauty, and workouts.
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Hi, Leeann. Thank you so much for introducing Christin to us. Any post that begins with "My mother is probably one of the coolest women I know..." definitely has my attention and makes me want to read more! So glad that I did!
ReplyDeleteIt was a really lovely post wasn't it Donna? I'd like to hope that my daughter felt the same way about me :)
DeleteLeanne - thanks for sharing Christin's post. Her admiration for her mother, despite her mother's earlier years of yelling - is encouraging for me. I hope my daughter one-day can look back on my efforts to be a good mother with as much love and compassion as Christin shares here.
ReplyDeleteHi Leanne, Thank you for sharing Christin's post. What a lovely and inspirational post it is. I liked a couple of points in it -- how one must value one's own time. And secondly, the importance of "little things" in life.
ReplyDeleteLife is never a bed of roses. It is all about how one tackles the thorns in life and moves ahead smiling and cheerful. This post tells us what it takes to be happy and therefore successful.
-- Pradeep | bpradeepnair.blogspot.com
Hello Leanne and Christin,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing to us about your mother Christin! All the attributes that you have highlighted are important. I especially love how she has created space/boundaries and the calm that your mother has mastered. What a beautiful person she is! #AnythingGoes
Best,
Sigrid
Self-care is so important! It is something that I am working on making a priority in my life.
ReplyDelete#mlstl