About



My name is Grace Kim. Met my sweet husband in Singapore. We got hitched at the end of 2012. Had a baby almost exactly two years later. I've been living overseas for more than seven years (Cambodia-Singpaore-South Korea). I grew up in New York(ish), but my roots are Southern (born in Nashville, baby!). I suppose you could call me a global citizen, and I would say that my character, the things I cherish and love in life have been influenced by each place my feet have traveled or lived, and every person I've met along the way.

My first year as a mother was...full. Full of many things - joy, loneliness, excitement, exhaustion, laughter, tears, fears, dreams. Most of all, though, I've discovered that it also included a loss of self. For better and for worse. This year (and this blog), my hope is to (re)discover myself as I am today: wife, mother, foreigner, daughter of the King, global (ethical) citizen.

This blog has been something I've turned over in my head for quite a while. Self-doubt always told me I shouldn't do it. But I finally realized that connection is what gets us through. Self-connection, spiritual connection, connection with others.

As a mama, I know how deeply I need this community of mothers. I saw in this last year how much solace, peace and validation ("I'm not crazy!" "I'm not alone in this!") the sisterhood of mothers brought me. We NEED other mamas to cheer us on, to share their stories (to be cliché: the good, the bad, the ugly). We need to understand (and hear!) that, no matter how lonely we feel, we are in fact never really alone.

My own mother died suddenly when I was in high school. Growing up I was always closer to my dad. And I've regretted not trying to connect with her more every day since. In my early twenties my best friend gave me a journal with letters from her friends and some family including things they remembered about her. It was her way of helping me connect with her.

Ever since then, I've been on a journey to connect with her more and more. And since becoming a mama myself, it's deepened that desire even more.

In Korean, "omma" means mama. At the house where my mother grew up in North Carolina, not far from the ocean, grew a fig tree in the back yard. I will always remember that tree and the jars of fig jam my grandmother used to make.

My hope is that this place can be another avenue for mamas to love, encourage and honor each other.

xo,
Grace

P.S. As always, I'd love to hear from you (mama or not :): ommaandthefigtree@gmail.com

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