The primary subject of this picture is a homegrown lemon being wrapped and protected by a homemade net. My mom has a fruit tree in our backyard and she tends to it everyday. One day, she realized that there were big bites out of the fruit. She made an innovative solution and customized nets shown in the picture out of scraps to protect these fruits from being eaten and damaged by other external forces. She makes sure to always pick the prettiest ones to give out and leave the more battered ones to use at home. Each lemon being given out embodies both the care my mom has for her plants but also the care and thoughtfulness she has for whom she’s gifting the fruit. She gives out fruit in exchange for the help we received from our neighbors. When a new Asian American family moves into our neighborhood, we are able to bond over some good fruits. For my mom, planting, caring, and gifting food is how she expresses love and care. 

Gifting fruits may be the Asian American way of giving a cake. The fruit symbolizes a blessing of healthiness on the other person. In many Asian American cultures, after dinner, instead of eating a dessert, they eat fruit. By sending fruit, they are also sending wishes of healthiness, especially because this is particularly emphasized in Taiwanese culture. Gifting fruits is one of the love language for Asian American communities. 

Similarly, during Lunar New Year or Mid-Autumn festival, we give “wishes” where we hope that each person is happy and healthy. Although Asian Americans may have initially started gardening as a way to ground themselves and make a home in the U.S, my mother gardens to create community. My mother also grows these fruits to give to our older relatives. Whenever she visits my grandma, a drive almost an hour long, she brings a bag full of fruit to share. When she does this, her intention is not only to wish for good health but also to prevent my grandma from going out too much. As much as she hates to show it, my mother worries about my grandmother and what might happen if she goes out by herself. With rising anti-Asian hate, my mother tries to be even more self-sufficient in order to keep our grandmother in the house. However, it begs the question: Why do Asian Americans feel the need to protect and isolate themselves while living in a country that is also their home?

There are two planners and a pencil. Love in this picture is helping someone organize their schedule and events. Love is expressed by aiding in organizing and finding an organization style that suits me, which may include different types of planners with different themes or colors of highlighter. At the time, I had a problem with organization, and my mom worked with me to find a long-lasting solution to all the events I had going on. Now, not only is the calendar reminiscent of my mom’s care, but the yearly trip to the 99-cent store to buy these planners is also a part of our bonding time. We would spend time looking at the dog planners, the cat planners, and the beach planners and find which one we would love to look at daily. This form of love is more practical and helps me solve real-life problems. When I’m stressed, my mom is stressed with me. By helping me alleviate this problem and create an efficient system, she showed me how much she cares, which is shown through the fact that she noticed that struggle and rushed to think of a solution. Love comes in different forms, and helping others solve problems is one form. It may seem shallow at first, but thoughtful gifts can be very beneficial and help you fix your problems, even at as low of a price as 99 cents. These gifts symbolize the attention that person pays to you and their desire to help you. Understanding that pragmatic gifts are just as important and meaningful as comforting hugs. Gifts can also help solve problems and make you feel more comfortable.