My solace from all the chaos of my life is my local boba shop. I get an iced passion fruit green tea, sometimes a chocolate chip cookie or savory garlic cheese bread. I let the kids run amok around the fountain and eating area when they come with me, which they usually do. It’s a nice area for them to run around and burn off their limitless energy, which means less destruction of the house. I watch them play around the fountain, enlist other kids in their toddler games, or sometimes they just want to sit and cuddle with me while they chomp on their bread and boba.
Some days I people watch, weaving stories about the smartly dressed woman working on her laptop while sipping her tea before running off in what looks to be an Uber. I wonder what kind of life the custodian has other than sweeping trash and weeding the planters (I warn the boys not to leave their drinks unattended because he’s sharp and has tossed their drinks before). I chuckle as the elderly woman with 3 toddlers tries to keep them away from the fountain and constantly says the exasperated Chinese phrase of “ai-ya!” while my boys try to see who can make the biggest splash with their rock. When it’s just Hui.3 and I while the boys are at school, she’ll make up her own games in addition to everything her brothers teach her.
I sit and write down my weekly and daily brain dumps in my Bullet Journal or start drafting the bones of a blog post. Sometimes I dream of the shaken beef French fries from the hipster pho place next door, and on a good day, I go get those indulgent fries with an egg on top (who says I’m not Asian??). Even in my sleep deprived and overstimulated state, my mind twists and turns over a new jewelry design I need to work on next. An artist never truly sleeps and it’s nice to have something still working despite the sleep deprivation and having 4 kids and a husband to tend to. While some people need their daily coffee fix, I come here at least once a week to find a little bit of solace and even a sliver of hope that life won’t always be so chaotic.
