I don’t even know where to begin because my heart is so full. Last weekend, my close friends and family threw me a gorgeous, dreamy virtual baby shower to celebrate me, the beau, and the bean. To know that the three of us are loved and cherished made us feel so warm and sweet. The guests included my closest friends in the US, plus members of my family (who stayed up late on the east coast just for this event) and beau’s family in Canada. To see everyone gathered around with big smiles as we played fun baby shower games and reflected on great memories made me smile from ear to ear for hours and days afterwards.
I was supposed to return to the US for the first time in 2 years in July, however my trip had to be cancelled yet again (this was the fifth trip home I had to cancel) due to risks with Hong Kong’s Covid restrictions and some health flare ups in pregnancy that made me want to stay close to my doctor (I’m fine and bean is fine!). Sadly, this meant my baby shower in NJ with my family and my baby shower in Los Angeles with my friends had to be cancelled as well. I was really upset to miss out on gathering with friends and family I haven’t seen in nearly 3 years to celebrate something exciting.
But my friend Tami, who would have hosted my shower in Los Angeles, did not let my cancelled trip stop me from having a wonderful baby shower. She combined the guest lists from the family shower and the friends shower, and she put together a wonderful online event that everyone from all different time zones could tune in and celebrate all together. She and my friend Nia planned the games that would be played and they shipped out party favors and more to all our guests across the continent. Meanwhile, my beau and Tami were in contact about decor, and she shipped lovely decorations to us that the beau put up the night before the shower. With all the decor, plus my LoveShackFancy dress that I bought secondhand earlier this year, this shower was Bridgerton come to life.
Because of the time difference, the shower was held in HK’s early morning hours and in the early evening on the west coast of the US. Despite it being quite late on the east coast of the US, my family still tuned in ready to celebrate and stayed for the entirety of the party. It was quite emotional for me to see all of my favorite people right there in front of me on my screen. I haven’t seen any of them in person in years, and the fact that they all gathered together to celebrate this joyous time in my life meant the world to me.
The night before the shower, the beau spent time getting the house ready. He had never heard of a balloon garland before and yet he was up to the challenge of making one that Tami sent us to drape over the corner of our living room mirror (it’s still up as I write this post!). He also spent the evening baking a cake (cooking and baking is therapeutic for him as it is for me). For my birthday back in March, he made me a lemon raspberry cake from scratch to celebrate my day. Unfortunately, I was suffering from severe morning sickness at the time and could only manage one bite before vomiting. I was so sad to miss out on the cake (don’t worry, the beau and his mom still got to enjoy it!), so the beau promised to make it again when I was feeling better. The baby shower was the perfect opportunity to make it again, and my goodness was it delicious! Homemade cakes made with love are the best.
Throughout the shower, I couldn’t help but feel extremely grateful to have such wonderful loving friends and family. It hasn’t been easy being away from everyone, especially during this exciting time in my life. But during the shower, they truly made me feel special and, quite frankly, not forgotten. Tami planned such a fun shower, with so many fun games and lots of funny stories shared amongst everyone. There were a lot of laughs and some tears, and it felt just like old times gathered with people who mean a lot to me and who have really been there for me in recent years. And while I was sadly unable to celebrate with anyone in person, I’ll just have to plan a “sip and see” (with a glass of Tami’s wine label Madre Wine, of course!) with my family and friends when I return to the US after the birth of my daughter.
