I am a Halloween Scrooge. A few years ago, when 1 was pregnant with my son and returned home to give birth, I arrived in Canada on October 30 with a 36-week belly and a nearly 2-year old daughter. 1 saw - for the firs...I am a Halloween Scrooge. A few years ago, when 1 was pregnant with my son and returned home to give birth, I arrived in Canada on October 30 with a 36-week belly and a nearly 2-year old daughter. 1 saw - for the first time in six years - how Halloween was revered in the West. I＇d forgottent I felt a stab of guilt for having actively ignored the holiday while living in China, especially after I had become a parent.展开更多
I wouldn＇t remember his face even if 1 saw him on the .street. I＇m watching him mix the medicine under a mortar and pestle, and his bowl is singing a bell＇s overtone, not unlike a Buddhist monk＇s, and the copper-c...I wouldn＇t remember his face even if 1 saw him on the .street. I＇m watching him mix the medicine under a mortar and pestle, and his bowl is singing a bell＇s overtone, not unlike a Buddhist monk＇s, and the copper-colored bowl is gleaming with the rub of use. He is middle-aged and medium built, and his average appearance is exactly what helps this extraordinary backdrop burst out from all around him, like a golden, TCM （traditional Chinese medicine） aura.展开更多
My daughter＇s birthday is January 2. Her due date was January 1. In fact, I went into labor on December 31,but she didn＇t show her little infant face until the evening of January 2. Her entrance came with quite a dr...My daughter＇s birthday is January 2. Her due date was January 1. In fact, I went into labor on December 31,but she didn＇t show her little infant face until the evening of January 2. Her entrance came with quite a drum roll. In keeping with the tradition her difficult birth established, there has been a natural buildup to her birthday every year -- three mid-December birthdays in the family and then two important holidays： Christmas and New Year＇s Eve. So, I shouldn＇t have been surprised when my soon-to-be 4-year-old asked me this question： ＂When it＇s my birthday this year, Mommy, will I be a new year old？＂展开更多
This is the story of my very first Mother＇s Day： On my first actual Mother＇s Day, I arranged for my husband and I to take my 婆婆 （mother-in-law） out for lunch, or so I thought. After all, my own mother is all t...This is the story of my very first Mother＇s Day： On my first actual Mother＇s Day, I arranged for my husband and I to take my 婆婆 （mother-in-law） out for lunch, or so I thought. After all, my own mother is all the way in Canada. All I could do was wait for the evening and phone my mother on her Mother＇s Day morning to wish her a happy day （12-hour time difference）.展开更多
Editor's Note: Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician, Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she explains that toddlers a...Editor's Note: Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician, Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she explains that toddlers are not quite ready for touch-screen technology.展开更多
Editorfs Note:Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician. Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she shares her experience of play...Editorfs Note:Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician. Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she shares her experience of playing chess with her five-year-old son, and some of her thoughts about the game.展开更多
Five years ago, when my daughter was just five months old, and still a chubby infant, I celebrated my firstever Mother＇s Day （as a mother）. I recall the experience acutely. Mother＇s Day was approaching and 1 point...Five years ago, when my daughter was just five months old, and still a chubby infant, I celebrated my firstever Mother＇s Day （as a mother）. I recall the experience acutely. Mother＇s Day was approaching and 1 pointedly reminded my Chinese husband that he needed to celebrate his own mother,展开更多
My grandmother was the one who taught nay uncle to throw a football. This is a recycled story; it＇s been told far too many times in my family——especially by my grandmother herself, who started repeating her stories...My grandmother was the one who taught nay uncle to throw a football. This is a recycled story; it＇s been told far too many times in my family——especially by my grandmother herself, who started repeating her stories many years ago before she passed away in 2016. This story is of the single-line variety, but it acts like a zipper opening onto a bigger scene. Picture a woman in the late 1950s with a tight sweater, conical breasts, perhaps a silk scarf tied loosely over her curlerfixed hairdo, slim-fitting pants, and a football poised perfectly atop a crooked arm. A little boy waits across the yard, legs apart, knees bent. He is grounded and ready, eyes dancing.展开更多
文摘I am a Halloween Scrooge. A few years ago, when 1 was pregnant with my son and returned home to give birth, I arrived in Canada on October 30 with a 36-week belly and a nearly 2-year old daughter. 1 saw - for the first time in six years - how Halloween was revered in the West. I＇d forgottent I felt a stab of guilt for having actively ignored the holiday while living in China, especially after I had become a parent.
文摘I wouldn＇t remember his face even if 1 saw him on the .street. I＇m watching him mix the medicine under a mortar and pestle, and his bowl is singing a bell＇s overtone, not unlike a Buddhist monk＇s, and the copper-colored bowl is gleaming with the rub of use. He is middle-aged and medium built, and his average appearance is exactly what helps this extraordinary backdrop burst out from all around him, like a golden, TCM （traditional Chinese medicine） aura.
文摘My daughter＇s birthday is January 2. Her due date was January 1. In fact, I went into labor on December 31,but she didn＇t show her little infant face until the evening of January 2. Her entrance came with quite a drum roll. In keeping with the tradition her difficult birth established, there has been a natural buildup to her birthday every year -- three mid-December birthdays in the family and then two important holidays： Christmas and New Year＇s Eve. So, I shouldn＇t have been surprised when my soon-to-be 4-year-old asked me this question： ＂When it＇s my birthday this year, Mommy, will I be a new year old？＂
文摘This is the story of my very first Mother＇s Day： On my first actual Mother＇s Day, I arranged for my husband and I to take my 婆婆 （mother-in-law） out for lunch, or so I thought. After all, my own mother is all the way in Canada. All I could do was wait for the evening and phone my mother on her Mother＇s Day morning to wish her a happy day （12-hour time difference）.
文摘Editor's Note: Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician, Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she explains that toddlers are not quite ready for touch-screen technology.
文摘Editorfs Note:Ember Swift, the proud mother of two, is a writer and an internationally touring musician. Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Beijing since 2008. In this article, she shares her experience of playing chess with her five-year-old son, and some of her thoughts about the game.
文摘Five years ago, when my daughter was just five months old, and still a chubby infant, I celebrated my firstever Mother＇s Day （as a mother）. I recall the experience acutely. Mother＇s Day was approaching and 1 pointedly reminded my Chinese husband that he needed to celebrate his own mother,
文摘My grandmother was the one who taught nay uncle to throw a football. This is a recycled story; it＇s been told far too many times in my family——especially by my grandmother herself, who started repeating her stories many years ago before she passed away in 2016. This story is of the single-line variety, but it acts like a zipper opening onto a bigger scene. Picture a woman in the late 1950s with a tight sweater, conical breasts, perhaps a silk scarf tied loosely over her curlerfixed hairdo, slim-fitting pants, and a football poised perfectly atop a crooked arm. A little boy waits across the yard, legs apart, knees bent. He is grounded and ready, eyes dancing.
