Memories of Magnolia

Memories of Magnolia, 2023. Gold leaf, scripture, and thread on magnolia leaves

In her early life in Việt Nam, my mother-in-law, Dì Ba, served as a teacher, but during the years from 1975-1979, she was needed as a nurse and heeded the call. With a love for her people, she was responsible for hundreds of children who were maimed and orphaned by war.

After arriving in America, Dì Ba found work as a maid, working in hotels and private residences. (Although she is Hiền’s mother, he and his siblings were told to call her Dì, or Auntie. To survive during the communist takeover, many Vietnamese were forced to change their identities—in name, birth date, birth place, familial relations—for fear of persecution and imprisonment.) When she worked in private homes, Hiền accompanied her. While she worked, she tutored him, and this time together fostered his life-long love of learning. One of these homes belonged to a Caucasian family whose young daughter often played with Hiền. One day while playing outside, she picked up a giant magnolia blossom and held it up to Hiền’s face. Smell, she told him. He buried his face into the blossom and recalls the sweet fragrance that was his introduction to magnolia.

This work is inspired by the gentle moments of teaching and kindness that have nestled in the deep pockets of our hearts, living on in our memory to remind us to do the same for others.