Ba’s first trip to the US has ended with her getting all suited up in a protective jumpsuit and securing one seat on one of these special “rescue” flight operated by the government. We drove her to Washington DC, being able to take a quick stop at Baltimore, MD. Her flight was a direct one from DC to Hanoi, with a refuel stop in Alaska. We are forever grateful for these four months having Mom here and watching her shower Nem with love and care. Due to COVID, she had to stay quarantined for a week in a designated hotel. I will never forget seeing her tearing up during the first video call when she could now only see Haruki on the screen. We can’t wait to bring him back to Hanoi, his second home.

With ba leaving, Haruki started school! We picked Cradles to Crayons, a locally-owned daycare with really loving staff. I somehow get to live the life of a typical Japanese mom: waking up early in the morning to prepare lunch box and snacks to send to school with him. The house is sooo quiet without Haruki, but I finally get to spend some quality time with my plants. I’m sure if we ever move away from this first home of ours, Jon wouldn’t miss carrying all my plants I placed outdoors during the summer inside before a storm, then moving them all outside again once the storm has passed.

We could also take Nem to his first peach picking! Yum! It’s amazing to have a local farm only 20-min drive away. He doesn’t know how to bite on a ripe peach yet, but hopefully gets to enjoy…watching Mommy and Daddy picking peaches and walking through some wild flowers. Soon it will be apple-picking season and all the fun fall activities await!