Dumpling Making Event Reflection

This past Thursday, I hosted my first AAC event of the semester with my fellow intern, Maya. We got together on Zoom and made dumplings with those who were able to join us. Growing up, whenever there was a special occasion such as a holiday or a family gathering, my mom would alway garner my sister and I to make and wrap dumplings with her. Making dumplings with your family is probably something that every person of Chinese descent has in common. The familial bond that’s created during the activity is something I value very much. Whenever I would make dumplings with my family, the same occurrence would always happen. Whether it’d be my mom critiquing and comparing the dumplings my sister and I made or us making it a competition to see who can make the prettiest pleats.

However, in recent years, I noticed that the older I get, the less the less these family dumpling wrapping sessions would happen. With me going off to college and my sister being busy with her career, our house became less lively and along with that my mom would often mention to me through the phone that she made dumplings, but obviously, by herself. It always saddened me whenever she would tell me things like that. As a son, I miss the times that I was able to be around my parents and offer them help around the house, and as parents, they probably miss having my sister and I being around the house. While I took these moments for granted at the time, looking back, I wish I could’ve appreciated those moments more.

During the six months I was home during quarantine, I realized how much I missed spending time with my parents. I was able to help them more around the house and was really able to appreciate the time we spent together during a global pandemic. The dumpling making event that we held this past Thursday reminded me of the times I had made dumplings with my parents growing up and during quarantine. After the event, I sent a few photos of the dumplings I made to my mom and she said that my pleats improved a lot, and that really warmed my heart.