For those of you who know me or have read my columns and blog posts in the past, and have wondered what has happened to me or my writing, I would like to offer an apology and the following update.
Yes, I know I have not updated my blog for more than two months which has never happened before. I think about it almost every day and feel a little guilty for letting it go for so long. Here is what’s going on.
#1 A month long trip to China
My mom was in and out of the hospital from April to July, due to her diabetes complications. So I went back to China to visit my family and to help take care of my mom for almost one month in June and July. Only a few days before my leaving was my mom discharged from the hospital, but she went back again later. She has been doing dialysis three times a week since May.
It was sad to see my mom suffer and lose her quality of life. Now she is dependent on others. My 81 year-old father and my brother are her caretakers, with my brother still holding a full-time job. We had some bitter sweet moments when relatives from other parts of China came to visit mom in hospital. They came to visit my mom because she could be gone any time. Surprisingly, she survived.
Though I spent most time in the hospital during the month-long visit, there were also some happy moments. It was nice to see my mom recover to the point that she could get up and walk outside with a cane. She was almost dying when I first saw her. Her recovery was a victory. I will write more about it in another post.
The other happy moments included a few high school reunions. I lost contact with my high school classmates since I left my hometown to go to college in Beijing. So we hadn’t seen each other for 34 years. Most of the others hadn’t seen each other either, even though they live in the same city. A reunion was planned a few months in advance. It happened to be during the time I was there. So I had the good fortune to attend the reunion and meet the other 60 classmates and over 10 teachers. I couldn’t remember and recognize all the people, because some are not from the same class.
I attended two high schools, so there were more than one reunion.
It was really fun and memorable to meet so many classmates at once. We took one new photo that shows the same four people in the same position from an old photo. I was about 15 years old back then. The before and after photo was a real treasure.
#2 Start a home business
My mom’s illness and recovery led me to start a home business. Before I went back to China to visit my mom, I did some research on dietary supplements in order to buy some high quality products for her. I found out about USANA Health Sciences. Its dietary supplements are rated #1 among over 1500 products in North America. During my research and learning, I became a total believer in supplements and started taking them myself. The products have helped my mom greatly. Now as an USANA Associate, I want to share its mission and its amazing products with as many people as I can.
I have been spending time reading and learning about nutritional supplements and healthy living. I have always been interested in health & wellness. I am a part of the H&W committee at work and involved in H&W events. Now USANA gives me a new focus, a new mission, and a new passion.
More about USANA later. Meanwhile, here is my USANA website if you are interested in learning about the company and the products. On this website, you can also take a health assessment for product recommendations. Feel free to contact me for more info. I would love to talk with you and help you live a better and healthy life.
#3 Wechat
Since I got connected with my college classmates via Wechat in January this year, I have spent more time Wechatting with my Chinese friends and relatives around the world. Honestly, I love my Wechat more than my blog and Facebook. It is a mobile app and easy to use. Since everyone on my Wechat network is someone I know, it’s more interesting to network with them, to chat live, to share photos and articles, and what’s on my mind. I get instant feedback, and more gratification in sharing with people I know. As the result, I lost a lot of time and some interest in updating my blog and Facebook.
#4 Gardening and Walking
I love gardening and walking. Summer days are short when I can spend time outdoor after dinner. I hardly use my computer now. Some days I don’t even turn on my computer.
As Minnesotans, we know summer wouldn’t be here for long. Pretty soon days are getting shorter and it will be cold and dark after dinner. Then I will have more time to update my blog.
After all, writing is still my love and passion. That will never change.