Mother's Day 2026

Mother’s Day of 2026 marked the second time Peter and I would celebrate our mommies together. As with all our hosting events, we planned this several weeks in advance. We started that Sunday slightly lazier, sleeping in from a long night prior. We had just fully moved in and finished setting up our new apartment on Saturday. To have it ready in time for hosting such an important event required some serious concentration. It felt good to slowly roll out of bed at 7:00 AM followed by watching some YouTube in our new work den before heading out to Costco to get gas, pastries, and groceries for the week.

Though we entered early with our executive membership to Costco, it was still very packed with shoppers. We made it out alive and headed straight to a nearby bakery whose cakes we’ve come to really enjoy. We foolishly assumed that because we’d be at the bakery right at opening that there would be cakes available. To both our dismay and fortune, there was only one cake left. Without hesitation, we told the cashier that we would take it and made our way home to do one final cleaning before our guests arrived.

For this occasion, we placed an order days prior for Thai food, an easy comfort food that everybody could enjoy. Peter designated me to play host and to entertain guests as they trickled in while he left to pick up the food. He wanted to avoid any socially awkward situations with him being alone in the apartment as someone who had very little experience hosting. As his luck would have it though, picking up the food was no easier: he was stressed and stuck amongst hordes of Mother’s Day brunch goers at the restaurant plaza.

While Peter was navigating the stress of picking up the food, I welcomed our first guests into the apartment: my parents. They arrived right at 11:30 AM sharp and brought with them an abundance of fruit. Peter’s parents, along with Jackie, arrived just minutes after and also with much fruit in hand. Altogether, we had peaches, strawberries, oranges, plums, pomelo, and papaya. In addition, Peter’s family brought sweet silken tofu, including flavors of black sesame, pandan, and OG vanilla. Jackie brought us a cute little plant as a housewarming gift. It’s now sitting in our den, basking and thriving in the sunlight.

As our guests mingled, the restaurant finally had our food readied and soon Peter was on his way home. Our order included several dishes to make sure everybody had a well-rounded meal. We set up the food in our new living room. Even on their designated day of celebration, our mothers took it upon themselves to prep and serve the food. And as is customary in Asian culture, nobody would step forth for the first servings of food until after much goading. Just as everybody heaped on piles of food, Patrick and his girlfriend Carol arrived. They brought with them beer, Pepsi, and mochi ice cream.

Peter and I hurriedly bustled around to make sure everybody had food and drink in hand. Anybody who has been to our place knows that we only serve tea, coffee/espresso, and sparkling water. Normally, people shy away from having any beverage aside from water, but today the guests were apparently comfortable enough to take advantage of our slim offerings. We have some coffee lovers amongst our parents, so we were more than happy that they felt comfortable in asking for freshly brewed espresso—they normally would just exclaim that it’s far too much hassle.

As we stuffed ourselves with the savoriness of Thai cuisine, Jackie’s friend Michelle showed up. Yes, the same Michelle who accompanied us to Japan in February. Michelle thoughtfully showed up with 3 bouquets! One bouquet for each mother, and one for myself. She also showed off her glitzy new engagement ring (CONGRATULATIONS)! She couldn’t stay for too long, but did fill us in on all the details of her engagement before racing off to see the new Michael Jackson movie (for her second time).

Just moments after Michelle’s departure, we transitioned from Thai food over to dessert. We had several rounds of sweets, first starting with the cake. The mothers refused to cut their own cake, so I did the honor. After cake was disseminated and thoroughly enjoyed, we took a few minutes of rest before bringing out the copious amounts of fruit. And though we were all stuffed to the brim, we were determined to delight in all the wonderful desserts brought over. Accordingly, we enjoyed the silken tofu shortly after the fruit. Peter, with his sweet tooth, opened the box of apple & caramel pastries we got from Costco earlier that day. At this point, most of us were ready to strap on insulin pumps and call it a day. Not one to give up without a proper struggle, Peter excitedly brought out the mochi ice cream from Patrick to round out our many courses of dessert.

For most of the afternoon, the “kids” sat around in the living room to hang out and catch up while our parents chit-chatted in the kitchen. I tried my best to eavesdrop, but to no avail. The parents covered a variety of topics, including our weird fascination with unseasoned chicken breast, current news, and their recent travels. Meanwhile, Jackie fell comatose on the couch after engorging herself with far too much food. Peter and I wanted to capture a few photos as memories of this Mother’s Day, so we took some cute group photos. Unfortunately, Jackie was not conscious to partake in the photos.

Before long, it was time for my parents to head back down to Orange County, for they had plans with my aunt and uncle. Goodbyes were traded as Peter’s parents along with Patrick and Carol made their exits as well. It was already 3:00 PM by this point. Peter’s parents left Jackie asleep on our couch as they went home with the understanding that we could take Jackie back along with all the left overs to their place for dinner. Peter and I tidied up and restored our apartment back to it’s pristine state while hanging out with Jackie. She had awoken from her siesta finally, so it was nice to debrief and catch up more privately with just the three of us.

Soon it was 6:30 PM and we were finally ready to eat again. We headed over to Peter’s parents’ place with boxes and boxes of food. Peter’s mom prepared some Korean short ribs to have with the left over Thai food. We had a second feast that evening. I am pretty sure we had a week’s worth of calories in just that one day, but who’s counting? This was an amazing day full of food and family—definitely one to top at the next event, Father’s Day!