Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but I still want to share how I enjoyed the day.
The morning was wonderfully satisfying. With camera, lights and action—my bedroom served as the set—and suddenly “Precious Inspires” was live on YouTube. My guest was my sister-from-another-mom, Yvonne Chi Leina. We had an engaging, inspiring conversation that touched on Cameroon and current trends around domestic violence. It was thoughtful, instructive and candid. I’ll share the video soon so you can watch the whole conversation and get the full scoop.
Before the show, I had what I jokingly called “jeansing” my girls and myself—yes, I made that word up. We all dressed in jeans and looked ready to go. If you weren’t sure what I meant, now you know: we matched in denim. After the show we were set to head out.
Where were we going? I didn’t have a plan. I just wanted to get out and enjoy the day. I wrapped up the live session and chatted with my grande soeur, who had been my guest. It felt like the right time to leave, but my husband had other plans—he wanted to take a nap. Since it was a day off, he wanted to rest, so we waited for him to finish. Once he woke, we were off.
We decided to go to the Mall of America. It’s a great place to stroll, try rides and, in my case, eat Chinese food. My craving for Chinese started because of Natacha, my niece-in-law-turned-sister. The first time I visited the Mall of America, I chose the familiar: a burger and fries. When I told Natacha, she couldn’t believe it. In her Americanized accent she exclaimed, “What? You didn’t eat Chinese? How can you go to the Mall and not eat Chinese?” That pushed me to explore the mall’s Chinese options this time, and my taste buds were ready.
The first thing I looked for at the mall was a Chinese restaurant, and we found one. The menu was confusing at first, so I made a simple choice: California rolls. My husband ordered something with a long, crunchy name—“Crunchy Crunchy” something-something—that I couldn’t remember later on. The experience was fun and a little comical.
You should have seen me with chopsticks; I struggled terribly. I was clumsy, but the important thing is that I ate Chinese food and enjoyed the experience. Even with the awkwardness, it felt like a small victory.
One moment I can’t forget happened inside a doll shop. A woman and her daughter were sitting quietly while someone worked on the doll’s hair. I watched in surprise as a stylist treated the doll like a real child: an apron was tied around the doll’s neck, the stylist sprayed the doll’s hair with a fancy-looking product and then brushed it carefully. A doll was getting a full hair makeover.
I couldn’t help but think: some dolls in America get better pampering than real babies in other parts of the world. It was both amusing and slightly bewildering.
After the mall we went home and finished the day calmly. As I type this, reality returns: I’ve been mediating squabbles among the four children I’m caring for and cleaning up a spilled cup of tea. That is modern multitasking—balancing parenting duties and household tasks while reflecting on a fun day out.
So that was my Valentine’s Day: a meaningful morning conversation, a casual outing to the mall, a first Chinese meal there, and a memorable stop at a doll salon. How was your Valentine’s Day?