Dear friend,
Growing up, it was not easy for me to receive gifts from my parents.
My mom or dad would buy something out of the ordinary to surprise me, and I would reject their offering, often demanding that they return it.
It took me a long time to start seeing how precious these acts of love have always been. Here's what I learned:
1. 🎁 Understanding My Parents' Love Language of Gifts
For most of my life, I took the ways my parents loved me for granted.
Not only did I not acknowledge their efforts, I often unfairly took those opportunities to release the bottled-up stress and frustration from my own life.
I labeled their gifts as annoyances instead of offerings of warm connection.
Eventually, I started waking up to the truth that every gift they presented to me was a direct expression of their love. They wanted me to know that they cared and were thinking about ways to add to my life.
As I'm getting older and closer than ever to my parents, the tables have turned, and I find myself doing the same thing they had done for me for my whole life.
I'm constantly thinking of new gifts to send, ways to increase their quality of living, and how to fill our home with thoughtful expressions of my love.
2. 🦙 My Mama's Llama
One of the most unexpectedly resonant gifts I've given my mom recently is her stuffed llama/alpaca.
I knew that was one of her favorite animals, but I never expected her to love this stuffed one SO much.
Later, I learned that she never had the luxury of playing with stuffed animals when she was a child.
Her llama now rests on her chest whenever she's in the living room using her phone or watching TV. She'll occasionally hug, kiss, and talk to it. 🥺
This week, we just put a video about this llama that never leaves my mom's side.
Click to watch below 🥰
3. 💬 Question of the Week (in 7 languages)
English:
What have I done that has brought you joy?
Simplified Chinese:
我做过的哪些事曾为你带来快乐？
Wǒ zuòguò de nǎ xiē shì wèi nǐ dàiláiguò kuàilè?
Traditional Chinese:
我做過的哪些事曾為你帶來快樂？
Wǒ zuòguò de nǎ xiē shì wèi nǐ dàiláiguò kuàilè?
Vietnamese:
Con đã làm gì để ____ vui?
Spanish:
¿Qué he hecho yo que le ha traído alegría? (Formal)
¿Qué he hecho yo que te ha traído alegría? (Informal)
Korean:
제가 기쁘게 해드린 일은 뭐예요?
jehga gippeugeh haeduerin ireun mwoyeyo?
Filipino/Tagalog:
Ano po ang mga nagawa ko na nakapagpasaya sa inyo?
With love,
Joseph
