Barbecue Hannah

hello my dear, how are you? I miss you a lot 🤍

This week is my last week here, and I have been spending the past few days at home and nearby rather than travelling far around. And this evening, my parents invited a family of neighbours to come over and barbecue at our backyard. It’s my first time trying barbecue here in the UK, I guess it also feels a bit more interesting to be doing it at home.

I feel like my 3 weeks here in Manchester has been really fruitful with a lot of refreshing experience. I went on a few road trips to places I have never been even though I’ve been to the UK for so many times, I painted a wall and now tried barbecuing at home. But I think what makes this experience even more precious is doing all these with my parents.

In fact back when I was planning this trip, one of the deeper reasons I decided to make this trip was that I could really feel my parents’ aging when they last came back to HK in March. It made me feel perhaps while my life is still quite flexible and that they are still relatively healthy, maybe I should try spend more time with my parents here in the UK. It is also to prepare myself for the day to day life here, in case something happens to either of them one day and I have to come over to take care of them.

I know some of these thoughts came from the anxious, overthinking part of me, but I think these thoughts set me on a different mindset and attitude this time compared to the last few times when I came here. As you know, I have a lot of issues with my parents and even for this trip, there’re a lot of times when I felt triggered and needed space. But I feel like I am also growing and getting better at finding that right balance between managing my parents and overwhelming myself, and learning how to set healthy boundaries when living with my parents.

All I hope is that my 3 weeks here is going to be a precious memory for them that they can look back feeling blessed in future times.

Love you and thinking a lot about you too as I explore living here in the UK. Hugs 🫂