20 Years and Beyond — Part I: A Beginning

In January, we celebrated our daughter Jasmine’s 20th birthday.

Brian made her special allergy-free cupcakes — just like he did when she was in preschool.

As I watched her blow out the candles and make her 20th birthday wish, a memory from 15 years ago came rushing back. Jasmine had proudly carried cupcakes into her classroom. Her teacher smiled and asked, “They look so delicious! Did your mommy make these?”

Jasmine replied honestly,
“No, my mommy doesn’t know how to bake. They were made by Daddy.”

Twenty years later… I still haven’t mastered baking. I’m not very good at following recipes exactly.

Two decades.
A full chapter of life.
A blink of an eye.

As Jasmine’s pediatrician always said: “Long days, short years.”

I still remember the moment she was placed in my arms. That tiny baby — so perfect, so magical — I had never seen anything more beautiful. I began photographing her constantly, determined to document her life. And quietly, I made a promise to myself: one day, I would become a portrait photographer and have my own studio.

As a new mom, I devoted most of my time to her. So when my husband left one Sunday night for his usual hockey game while she was still an infant, I was stunned.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at home with our baby?” I asked.

He was equally surprised.

“Why can’t I continue to play hockey just because I became a daddy?” he replied. Then he said something that changed everything:
“I’ll be very happy to watch the kids when you pursue your hobbies.”

That conversation started my Saturday afternoon photography study sessions.

One year, after celebrating Jasmine’s birthday, Brian went back to his hockey game. Jasmine created a little song and sang:
“Today is my birthday… my daddy plays hockey…”

Twenty years later, he still plays every weekend. His dream is to be the oldest person on the ice — even at 100.

Our children both love sports now. Hockey and workouts are part of who they are. That discipline and passion? They learned it from Daddy.

But they learned something from Mommy too.

“Mom, you’re from a foreign country, and you followed your passion and made your dream come true. I think I can make my dreams come true too,” Jasmine told me quietly when she left for college.

If you ask me the greatest lesson from 20 years of family life, it’s this:

Being a parent doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your dreams.
And being married can enrich your life — giving each other the room to grow and become who you’re meant to be.

Twenty years pass faster than we think.
What remains are the stories…
and the legacy we choose to create together.

This is the beginning of something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
A reflection on 20 years and beyond… and what it really means.

To be continued…