Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Congratulations to Coral and Chris!


Di Tien and Uncle Jim had a daughter several years after they were married. They named her Coral because they met on a Florida beach and wanted to commemorate that moment with their first child.

 I was 8 at the time and I was elated to have a cousin. At the time she adored me as well. I remember that she would run around the house squealing my name with delight “Kimmy! Kimmy! Kimmy!” We used to sit at the kids’ table in the kitchen for dinner and Coral would happily entertain Steve (my brother) and me by dumping food on her head and in her diaper.  We couldn’t help but be in hysterics when she was up to her shenanigans.

When I was 14, I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin for a semester down in Tequesta, Florida. One day, Coral and I were watching tv and Connie Selleca was in a Pantene commercial. I don’t remember what we were watching, but I do remember Coral mesmerized by her and when she said, “Wouldn't you love hair this healthy and shiny?” Coral stared, nodded and murmured, “Mmmm, hmmm!”
This is a picture of Coral and my her brother Gary. It's a few years after said commercial brainwashing, but she's still just as cute!

It should have hit me then that she might have wanted to go into Marketing! (Which she did!)


Fast forward 20 years, not only does she have the hair that surpasses Connie Selleca's, but she's got some amazing style too! 

Me, Coral, Chris, and Steve
Earlier this month, I had the honor of witnessing her marriage to a great man. This wedding weekend is what sparked my family appreciation month. Congratulations you two! 

Chris, welcome to the family!!

My they grow up so fast! (tear)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!


The good thing about family is that when you are close and spend a lot of time together, you have lots of stories about each other. The bad thing about family is that when you are close and spend a lot of time together, you have lots of stories about each other…

Although I have a lot of relatives (my mom is the oldest of 10, my dad youngest of 8), I’m not particularly close to most of them. My mom is closest to her eldest younger sister, (Di Tien) which is the one that I have known all my life. When I was younger, we used to live in Indiana and Di Tien lived in Illinois, in a suburb really close to Chicago. Since we were only about a 4-hour drive away, I used to see my aunt quite a bit, often spending part of my summers with her and my Uncle Jim, her husband. Quick lesson in Vietnamese, "Dì" = "Younger aunt on mother's side"


One summer, when my brother (Steve) and I were visiting, she taught us how to make chocolate chip cookies.  With our “help,” we made five dozen cookies. Quite a feat for us youngsters not to tear into them right away!

Lincoln Park Zoo
While we waited for the cookies to cool, she suggested that we take a walk to the Lincoln Park Zoo. If I remember right, it was a hot day, and when we got to the zoo, most of the animals were inside. I was pretty disappointed and remember inquiring, ok, whining, “what kind of zoo is this if it has no animals!?”

After a few hours, we went back to my aunt’s and were excitedly anticipating a cookie treat after the disappointment we encountered at the zoo.  We opened the door, and went to the kitchen. To our astonishment, ALL the cookies were gone!

Poof! 

Vanished!

Bewildered, my aunt called out, ”Jim! Are you home?” He came out and my aunt asked him about the cookies and he said that he ate them. All SIXTY of them…  with some milk, of course.

Can you guess his nickname?
Cookie Monster


So, for his birthday this year, I decided to hit him where it hurts and made some chocolate chip and pecan cookies: a plate for him and a plate for everyone else. Not six dozen, after all, we all need to watch our figures! 



Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

Let go of what is gone; be grateful for what remains; look forward to what is coming...

NOTE: Written on March 2, 2020: Pre knowing just how big Covid was... I decided not to rewrite it because it was a simpler time then.  Holy ...