When I was born, I was given the name Chung Man Yee.
When I was adopted my name was changed. To Marly. I love this name, it is the name I grew up with. But the first three years of my life I was known by the Cantonese name, Man Yee. Now I reclaim my original name, not legally, but in my heart. I will always be Marly. But I am also, Man Yee.
I want to relearn my mother tongue. Cantonese (廣東話 gwong2 dung1 waa2) and am in the very early days of exploring the possibilities available for me to learn.
I tend to procrastinate on the things I want to do due to my energy levels. I could lay out all the reasons for not starting on this journey but at the root of it is a fear of not being able to succeed in this endeavour. Of not being able to speak the language and then not connecting with it. That’s part of it, but the truth is time is a big factor and also the many other activities I want to engage in.
I want to share my story through videos on TikTok, I want to write fanfiction, I want to listen to good music and I want to spend time with my friends. Or read a good book or play video games… I don’t have the discipline to sit and do something unless I have no choice. But because learning a new language is a choice… it’s hard to shift it to a need. Even though part of me feels that it is a need.
I do know it is something I will do. It’s just having the energy and time to do so. I have the tools at my disposal. So, that’s not the issue.
Is there a reason we fantasise more about birth fathers than birth mothers?
I think there is. Adoptees often have no information on their paternal history as often our mothers were not married or were even children themselves when they gave birth to us.
I know I sometimes had an idealised version of what my birth father might have been like.
But now as an adult I have even fictionalised my birth father in my roleplay with my online friend.
That’s a trauma response, right? 🙃
His name is Shen and he is a timekeeper because of course he is 😅.
He travels through time so he has no time to stay with my birth mother or have anything to do with me.
He knows about me though. Which is every adoptees wish, right? That our birth fathers know that we exist.
Also we kinda turned him into an asshole who doesn’t believe in messing with time… even though he tried to mess with our time.
Savour the “Quiet Days”. This is one of the biggest lessons I have learnt in early learning. These days or even moments can often be few and far between, but they are as precious as the “Crazy Days”.
I used to get bored on the QDs, but after 11 years in the profession, I’ve reached a point where I can utilise them to benefit both myself, my team and the children that I educate and care for. I haven’t quite perfected this, and I don’t think I ever will. I do still get bored, sometimes. It’s a work in progress.
NB: A Quiet Day doesn’t necessarily mean that there are low numbers of children; this is sometimes the case, though.
Here are the top 5 things I’ve found are beneficial to do on a Quiet Day:
More one-on-one interaction with the children (on low number days)
Getting to sit back and watch the children engage in their own play experiences without interruption; after all even on the days that seem quiet, quality learning is always happening.
Quality team interactions
Catching up with documentation and planning
Cleaning jobs that don’t get done otherwise
There are evidently a lot more that can be done on a quiet day than what I’ve listed; however, those were what came to the top of my list.
I cherish the Quiet Days as they are the ones that often garner the most memorable moments for me personally. Cuddles from the babies and toddlers; random conversations about Frozen or food with the older children; moments where I get to know my colleagues better; they are all worth the quieter moments.
Or: My journey as a Chinese born Australian who doesn’t see herself as Asian but, after seeing Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I realise a part of me deep down still has some strong connection to my Chinese roots.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Gif created by me. Credit: Marvel Studios)
That is one heck of a subtitle, hey? But, this is how I felt after watching this new entry into Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This is not going to be a typical review, and there will also be no major spoilers (probably), but fair warning I will be gushing a lot as my love for this film surpasses any other MCU film. Also, this post will most likely be all over the place. So please bear with me.
What is going on? I think I need to cease being surprised at the passage of time as I get older. But, its so easy to see time slipping by, a factor that used to go unnoticed when I was younger. But, here we stand at the end of the first month of 2020.
It’s December. Three sleeps until Christmas. The joy of the season sits upon my heart, but with a depth of sorrow that I didn’t think I would experience so soon in my life. My husband, Mark, passed way in early November after three years of marriage. A time that I will never regret. He was one of the best people to ever walk into my life, and I am ever grateful to God that He brought us together. Continue reading “This Was 2018”→
Do you ever find yourself in a season of waiting? A season where life just seems to be an endless loop of the same thing – get up, go to work, go home to bed. Where you wonder what life is actually for? That’s where I’m at the moment.
Marly's World 