Yeng Vang

My mother is my life's inspiration. Before my mother came to America with my father, farming was a huge role in our life. Sometimes when you have a farm that is far away, families would go around 6 a.m. or before the sun rises. The mother/daughter/in-law packs the food in banana leaves and shovels into a bamboo shaped like basket carried on your back. They may stay up to a week or so because the farm is big and very few people to help. The farms would have a little house with no doors, a little fireplace, and a small platform 2 foot above ground for at least 4-5 people to sit on. From where our ancestors are from, the village is completely dark and scary if you roamed alone.

The houses there aren't like the houses made here. They are made out of mostly bamboos and sticks. There isn't any electricity, beds, carpets, rugs, built in restrooms or showers. As far back as i know, we came to the Americas by a promising war. The Americans were losing the fight to the Laotian people and the Americans asked the Hmong people to help them win. As in return they made an agreement that if the Americans won, they will take the Hmong people to America. Some stayed back waiting on their Hmong leader who is General Vang Pao, that one day he will come back and take all of his people with him to the land of freedom. My father, aunt and uncles were also involved in the war. My mother married my father in the year of 1986. Soon after, they had my now older brothers and sisters. They moved to the U.S. in 1996 and had me 2 years later.

I would always ask my mother about her experiences about farming and lifestyle. She would sometimes ask me about words in English and how to pronounce them in return. As your loved ones grow older each and every day, they will tend to make you worry because they often go places alone and with younger children. Whenever she takes out the trash, go to the store, cook or babysit, I always lend a hand. You know that saying, "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone" taught me how much I shouldn't be fooling around and start to mature myself. Our parents are attached to us because of how much they want to grow old seeing us become what they want us to be. My mother was a strong woman like my grandmother, for having a house full of children. The parents of the child wants him/her to be able to carry on his/her heritage and name for the guys. They want to have a grandchild to call their own.

Growing up before starting school, my parents were busy going to lots of places. After my sisters got married, none of my brothers would even help mom around the household. It was either hanging out with their friends or bossing me around. It wasn't until this year that my mind had changed. I'm the type of child that wants to stay and grow old with my parents until the day they rest. Throughout the years, I've seen my mother struggling with economic problems because my brothers can't find a decent job that lasts them for about 4-6 months.

She is my hero because she works up a sweat. She is very strong as in health and loving towards her grandchildren. The most inspirational thing was not being afraid of doing anything. She teaches me the ways of trying/getting something. She is a caretaker, the best mother, cooker and most excellent sewer I've ever known.