2021-22 Hwang Newsletter

HWANG FAMILY NEWSLETTER 2021-22 

Once again, it's time to send you Hwang greetings from Canada across the continents, for a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!!!. May the light of Christ, the newborn King, dispel the darkness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and usher in a bright new year 2022, full of hope and peace.  For each and everyone of you, my friend or relative, I will offer a prayer for health, love, joy, and hope. May the good Lord bless and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you, and may He give you peace.

The year 2021 brought a mixture of joys and challenges for Wai Chin.  The joys of course came from her extended family of grandchildren who totaled 7 in all.  Even though the pandemic has made it difficult for her to see her grandchildren regularly, she was able to see them, talk to them and watch them play through facetime, thanks to new technology.  She was really gratified to see Mia, doing her second last year of high school, Marcus excelling in the sciences and Adam doing lots of creative stuff at school and home.  Then comes Benjamin and Madison, Irene's children, who are extremely  active outdoors. Lastly Amy's two boys Teo and Indie, whose laughter often broke through any barrier.  Her joy was especially heightened by a recent visit to Christine's family home in Ohio   in the middle of November where she stayed almost 3 weeks, the longest she ever stayed away from home so far. Being surrounded by loved ones, it just feels heavenly.

On a personal level, my health took a wrong turn.  Since the start of the pandemic. I have been feeling pain in my legs.  In spite of Paul's assurance that that was most likely age related since I was turning 72.  But the pain grew worse by the day and in spite of medical help from acupuncture from Pauline and physiotherapy from Julie.  Then, I went to see a sports doctor who diagnosed it as bursitis.  I was given three high doses of shock wave treatment.  But the pain persisted and was getting worse.  I had to resort to using a cane and then a rollator.  The pain was so severe sometimes, especially from my left leg, that tears came running down my face.  Finally, the doctor recommended an MRI. It took about 4 months for that to happen.  Finally, it was shown that I have a bad case of sciatica, called stenosis.  There is no immediate cure for this except through regular exercise of the lumbar region. As much as I would like to have a quick fix for my pain, I am relieved that the real cause has been found.  So here I am, under heavy pain killer medication and struggling to keep working on the recommended exercises.  Please pray with me that I can carry this cross daily, without complaint, but with patience and perseverance. Oh Lord have mercy! 

The last 18 months have been among the most challenging for Paul, as he has just retired after 40 years of active neurological practice, to be confined to a minimal EEG reading every fortnight at a pediatric sleep lab, without direct patient contact and minimal staff interaction. Paradoxically, the enforced ‘cabin fever’ has engendered a novel activity in daily journal updates and attendance at TV Masses, coupled with nightly prayers of the Holy Rosary in these desperate times of the pandemic. Weekly chauffeuring of his wife to her various appointments, shopping for essentials and attendance at the local parish filled in the rest of the hours not spent before the TV or computer or iPhone video conferences. He managed to reach the target for his alma mater McGill 200th anniversary for the MNI, but had missed the 50th reunion of Loyola 1970, now Concordia U. in Montreal, postponed to 2022, which promises to be a pivotal year in retirement.but the best is still to come, in memorable words of Templeton.

Julie has had a great year in Toronto and is very grateful to soon be welcoming 2022. Her multidisciplinary wellness clinic team has worked hard to stay alive during the provincial lockdowns in only their third official year of business. In addition to running this practice at Bloor and Christie in Toronto @AurumMedicine with her wonderful team of doctors and therapists, this year she also acquired an Açaí business (rebranded it to be called FruitStudio.co) and continues to work and grow other health and wellness-related businesses. She is grateful for her own health and enjoys staying fit and playing soccer. If you must know, she mostly spent the year cooking kale, eating dim sum, container gardening, making jokes, painting, going on walks, creating art, spending time with friends. :)

Amy, Matt, Teo and Indie were blessed with lots of family fun during 2021. They especially enjoyed the outdoors during the summer, taking their first RV camping trip to Pauline's farm and beach hopping between Sandbanks, Gananoque, and Cobourg. Teo and Indie, now 4 and 2, are enjoying Waldorf's nature-oriented kindergarten and toddler programs. Both boys have grown into active chatterboxes, and share a love of food, beach play, biking/scooting, building, drawing, and all things with wheels! Matthew grew his real estate investment firm (volitionprop.com) considerably, now a vibrant team of 8. Amy had an exciting year co-developing two startups related to her aging/design research (togethering.co and JoyCanDo.com), and weaving this work into a post-doctoral research fellowship at University of Toronto's iSchool. The Lees look forward to a relaxed 2022 and making time for more housewarming projects in their Riverdale home.

Pauline and Ben had an overwhelming, chaotic and wonderful year at their new home, Hillgreen farm. They welcomed a second calf (Mei Mei), 3 sheep, and 52 day-old chicks (now grown up and laying delicious eggs) to the farm in 2021, all of which required extensive new housing and fencing that Ben built by hand.  In March, they boiled 4 batches of maple syrup over a wood fire, thanks to a generous birthday gift of sugaring off supplies from Paul and Wai Chin. Ben’s farm business has been “soft launched”, supplying organic eggs to friends and family, and hay to a local organic dairy farmer. He has joined the local school board and continues to supply teach high school social studies. Pauline has enjoyed practicing Chinese medicine locally in Warkworth, the charming small town near their farm. She continued to commute weekly to Toronto, which gave her precious time to spend with her parents, her sisters and especially their kids. After a busy year bringing on other practitioners to join her Toronto clinics, she plans to reduce these commutes and spend more time in 2022 on the farm (especially, ahem, unpacking their house… after moving Aug 2020), plus the usual stacking wood, hauling hay, planting herbs and shoveling manure. 

Irene, Stephen, Benjamin (7.5) and Madison (5.5) Yang had a very relaxing 2021, full of family time – as work from home continued. With the rules loosening, both kids loved our 3 camping trips, especially dive toys and biking at Algonquin Park, outdoor swim lessons and (9!) Canada’s Wonderland outings (favorites included an adult water tube ride and junior roller coaster Taxi Jam). This Fall, they finally returned to in-person school, started AIMA martial arts and robotics together – all challenging yet fun! Madison loves all types of creative play like Lego and is quickly advancing her swimming, reading, basketball, baking and addition skills. Benjamin loves music and the ‘Floss dance’, designing elaborate Gravitrax marble runs, swimming, bike ramps, basketball and math. They look forward to Sing 2 movie and humming along to Christmas carols.

Christine and Anthony have continued to work primarily from their home in Akron, Ohio during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the summer, they were blessed to be able to spend a month in Toronto (unfortunately quarantined the first 14 days under the strict Canadian government protocols), to gather with their families and loved ones. It was especially wonderful to see the younger cousins growing up so quickly and playing so nicely together. 

Mia (16) is now a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary high school, active in the school choir, theatre program and as a Student Ambassador. 

Marcus (14) joined his sister as a freshman at St. V this fall. He is loving every day of high school and says it is lightyears better than his middle school years! Marcus continues to play basketball for a local team. 

Adam (10) changed schools in the spring to join the local public school, where he is thriving academically and socially. In addition to hip hop, gymnastics, skiing, and cross-country, Adam has recently started playing the saxophone for his school 5th grade band, and also performed with a local theatre group in "A Charlie Brown's Christmas" (as Linus) and "Jingle Jury" (as Bad Kid #1 who rapped against Christmas spirit). 

The Herreras are also hosting a foreign exchange student from Madrid, Spain this school year. Lucia is 15 and attending the local public school. She has been a wonderful addition to the family this year, and fits into the chaos rather seamlessly. We were blessed to have grandparents Paul and Wai Chin visit us for a few weeks over US Thanksgiving, and we all look forward to reuniting in person with family and friends again next summer!

Wishing you all a blessed, safe and healthy Holiday season, and hope we can see you in person, or virtually, in 2022!