I'm a working mom

I like that title: working mom. It says how big and strong I am and that I can juggle like no other. Terran started eating regular food now. He loves tofu, he will eat vegetables if it's with tofu, he eats rice, he eats pieces of meat with rice.... So my duty at home is to cook a healthy meal for all of us. I've devised a very simple plan to make this work and it has been working well so far. I come up with a menu for every day of the week on Saturday or Sunday. I go shopping for everything I need. I wash and chop up all the vegetables and meats that I will use during the week on the weekend. So during the weekday, when I come home after picking up Terran, I just cook and that takes me about 20 minutes. I also have the rice washed the night before so all I need to do is turn on the cooker. Sometimes, I'll use the slow cooker and turn it on before leaving. When I get home, the chicken is nice and tender. Now that's working mom.

Pat and I have been following NPR's "this i believe" since we were in LA. It's now a good collection of short essays written by several famous, including Colin Powell and Isabel Allende, and numerous non-famous people. We thought about writing one ourselves but that never materialised. Anyway, they recently broadcasted an essay written by a 13 year-old Chinese girl from West Windsor, NJ. It's a powerful essay to read, but even more so when you listen to it being read by her. The immaturity of her voice blended with the maturity of context was an eerie and somehow a sad combination. She speaks of duty that drives her life. Being an asian brought up by asian parents, I feel that I do share a part of that feeling of duty to accomplish. But I think at some point, I just got plain lazy and said "f*ck it". Or maybe I just learned the American way of being self centered. I feel a sadness in her voice as she reads her obligations. I wonder what will become of her in years to come. If I run into her at Marketfair, I should say hi.