Debbie Wibowo

Letters to My Daughter, Jan. 2014

25 January 2014

My dear Jo,

I am watching you. I am feeling you.

Your kind heart. Your passion. Your big dreams.

You said you wanted to win four Olympic medals. One for gymnastic, one for soccer, one for swimming and one for archery. Your big dreams and how you want to reach for the starts are beautiful things. I want you to dream big. Dream big and work hard to achieve your dream. It is the dream that will make you alive. It is the process of achieving it that will make you learn about yourself and what matters to you.

You appear nonchalant about things. But you always have the desire to give your best and make sure that you do your best. You set your own goals (as simple as touching your nose with the toes or reading a book above your reading level) and work hard on your progress. You are a little fire ball with a powerful will.

Thank you for all the things you do. For your hard work, for your pure love, for making me laugh so hard so many times, for making my life beautiful.

I don't just love you. I love you so very much!
Bunda

This month I am linking to a friend with a big heart and a beautiful talent, Kirsty Larmour of Kirsty Larmour Photography. Her story is always full of adventure!

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It Feels Like Home in Ubud | NY Photographer

19 January 2014

The last time I visited Bali was with a huge belly, on my way back to Jakarta after finishing a project in Kupang and Papua.

Last year, I decided to show this magical island to Jo.

I was looking for a quiet place and decided to stay at Bambu Indah. The place is secluded, surrounded by nature and appreciate the nature. Each house is unique but the Udang house really caught my attention. I noticed the glass floor and imagined how blissful Jo would be if we could stay in that house. When I contacted them to inquiry about that house, to my surprise, the manager decided to hire me to document their properties and daily activities! Eep!

We spent the afternoon swimming, sipping our tea, eating our cakes and laying on the hammock. The glorious colors of sunset warmed our hearts. The noise of frogs and crickets occupied the night. The quietness of this place is a luxury (well, at least for me). I love, love, love nature. So it makes a great deal to me when a business is taking care of its surrounding. And Bambu Indah does. The soaps and shampoos are safe for the soil, which is very important because each house has an open shower where water falls directly to the soil. They plant their vegetables and harvest them every few days for the kitchen.

We walked bare foot. We woke up late. We lied down in the hammock doing nothing. We ate a fulfilling breakfast, freshly prepared. We drank coconut water. We will come back.

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It's the Little Things | NYC Photographer

04 January 2014

It's the Little Things: Reading a good book on a cloudy and cold day.

She wanted to read the Anne Frank Diary. And several people questioned her choice. "Are you sure? It's too hard and not your level book." "Are you reading that book? Do you understand? Do you need help?"

I am glad that she was persistent. She said, "I am interested in reading that book. Could you please get one for me?" So we did. She spends 1 hour just to read 20 pages (way longer than her normal speed), has to stop to many times and use the dictionary to look up certain words and has to read slowly to really digest. But she is halfway of finishing the book and has been retelling the story to me. (Yep, insert mom's happy smile here).