April 14th, 15th, and 16th was the Khmer New Year, a huge celebration in Cambodia where everyone, literally everyone, goes home from their busy lives in the city, or at school, or wherever they are, to their families, to celebrate the new year. It's a really big deal, schools get off for 2-3 weeks, and it's basically like Christmas in Cambodia.
Cambodia, or the Kingdom of Wonder, as they call it, really is a wonderful place, which, makes it all the more sad that my mother never had the chance to experience it with me.
On March 25th, 2014, Barbara Ann Baer: teacher, scrapbooker, cardmaker, tigger lover, traveler, photographer, singer, mentor, and my mother, passed away at age 59. She was an amazing mother, caring, kind, loving, and always there for me, whether I needed it or not. What else can I possibly say? She was my mother, is my mother, and will always be my mother.
I did, though, get the chance to return home to America to attend the funeral, thanks to Peace Corps. I got to see my dad, brother and sister-in-law, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins who came all the way from California, and of course Athena, too. 60 hours on a plane there and back was totally worth it.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks, mom, for being you. Love you.
