Previously I mentioned my mom’s pepper-growing hobby and how it all but consumes her time from the months of July to October. She was supposed to come to Seattle for a visit the first week of November, but since the fall frost hasn’t come to Michigan yet, I got pepper-blocked again as Mom stays behind to tend to her crop before winter. Sigh.

My brother John informed my mom that he was heading to the Korean grocery store to pick up some groceries, and, as usual, she gave specific instructions on what he was supposed to buy for maximum Asian deliciousness. This time around, she tried to force him to make a vanity purchase.

My mom will occasionally go see a movie. I’ve accompanied her on a couple occasions, as has my brother John. Seeing a movie with my mom is always a treat, mostly because watching her reactions and listening to her review afterward is easily more entertaining than the movie itself. Below are a few movies we’ve seen with Mom:

On Sunday I completed my first Ironman. I had been training for the race for the past several months and recently conquered the distance for the first time. A couple days before the race, I called my mom to remind her of what I’d be doing all day Sunday since she was too busy with her peppers to fly out and cheer me on. The call went about how you’d expect.

I mentioned before how Mom scrutinizes her kids’ weight. Last October I visited Michigan, and from a self esteem standpoint the trip didn’t go well. Not only did I find out that my visit was poor timing due to Mom’s pepper obsession, my little Korean mother obliterated any positive body issues I had in just four short days.

I play in a men’s basketball league with my buddies. One time Mom wanted to come watch a game. To my surprise, she managed to find the gym on time. I was having a really good game — everything was falling for me. I could hear her cheer with every basket. It was nice.

My mom has one hobby that we know of, and that is the planting, growing, picking, and selling of hot peppers. She complains about it so much that for the longest time I thought she hated growing peppers, but then one day it dawned on me that, despite her constant complaints and belly aching, she actually loves doing it. Don’t let the constant “Mommy break back in field allllll day long picking damn pepper!” moanings fool you — she loves that shit.