I often wonder about how we should say farewell to our families, to our aging elders and how they perceive their own pending goodbyes, and if they wonder about their legacies or regrets. What responsibility does that leave for us?
In returning to Taiwan in an unexpected manner, old items took on new meaning as the family dynamics shifted and, in a way, bonded. This calligraphy painting, the little statue, the books, this bed frame I’m sitting on, all from my mom’s childhood, kept in stasis in my grandparents home as the world around them turned and moved, perhaps in a way we would perceive as onwards.
This little statue came to be a part of us when my mom was in 2nd grade. She was learning to draw for the first time, and she and her siblings scraped together enough money to purchase this as a local art shop. It's been sitting on the shelf for decades now, and I wanted to dust it off and repurpose it.
Coming back is like teleporting into a childhood I really only remember from memories vividly filled in by laughing through old pictures of childhood and stories my aunts tell, accompanied by that feeling of belonging to our roots. Some of these items will now leave their era and find a new home with me ❤️
Most of my time in my childhood home is spent watching grandpa intentionally swish each brushstroke, creating moving art poetry. When I get to practice, he’s watching me create shapes to perfect the fundamentals. I haven’t a lot of practice in this, and am still in the experimental stage of calligraphy, but this table, this word, the history, the family, the dedication, is so much of my world.
The word I wrote is my name, 晶, which is made up of three suns and means crystal bright. I brought some brushes home with me and am going to be practicing when I can!
After quiet mornings filled with chirping and the occasional motorcycle/moped starting, we visit the incredible markets and buy fresh produce and eat...eat...and eat!!
Buying fresh passion fruit, my favorite here!!
Noodles from one of the stand restaurants.
We always ended the day with a pink sky, for the entire time I was there. It was absolute magic under the quiet rural Taiwan glaze of pink.
Of all the trips to Taiwan, this one was the most traumatizing, uplifting, heart-warming, soul-bonding, and educational one of all. I'll never forget all the things I learn through and through of the generations, the humans before us have created, for us.
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