Back in October when I visited my mom, her friend was gracious enough to let me and my boyfriend stay at her condo in Rochester Hills. The place was nice–two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a nice kitchen and living room. There was also a washer and dryer that Jason and I were eager to use because we were going to be away from Seattle for a few weeks and...

Last week I was chatting with my mom over the phone when she casually brought up the fact that my stepdad’s birthday was Thursday. “Kuht birthday this Thursday,” she said, “and it be nice if you call and wish him happy birthday. Or send him card. No, call him. He so nice to all my kids and send money for all you birthdays! Thursday. You...

Overall, my mom is a great cook. There are some things she’s kind of sucky at (like baking — you could bounce her chocolate chip cookies off the pavement), but most of the things she makes are pretty tasty. She’s a rockstar with Korean food but also makes really good non-Asian dishes. They’re not fancy or gourmet, but they’re good...

When I was 16 years old, my mom bought me a new Ford Contour sedan. It was blue with a little pink stripe along the sides that I made the dealership remove because I thought it looked stupid (it was). I was so excited to have my first car and the freedom that came with it. Three weeks after she handed the keys over to me, I was driving to a friend’s house for a...

I play in a men’s basketball league with my buddies. One time Mom wanted to come watch a game. To my surprise, she managed to find the gym on time. I was having a really good game — everything was falling for me. I could hear her cheer with every basket. It was nice. I ended up with the ball past half-court with a couple seconds left in the half. I...