Mom and Flowers

All things start with a story, here's mine.

At Vui Lên Farm, the idea started when my mom got diagnosed with stage IV gliobastoma fall 2023, an aggressive brain cancer. Our friends and family sent endless amounts of flowers to her when she was in the hospital and at home. It was the constant that made her smile. My sister and I started to shift our gardens to grow cut flowers with a goal to bring her a bouquet every time we visited weekly.

Vui Lên means "cheer up" in Vietnamese. The reason for the farm name stems from a routine visit to MD Anderson back in April 2024. I was driving my mom home after a long day of appointments with a repeat brain MRI when we received heart sinking news from her oncologist during the follow up visit that the brain tumor swelling has gotten worse. We had our routine lobster feast in Bellaire in Houston and on the drive back, she whispered under her breath "vui len" numerous times. I looked over at my mom while driving, hearing this out loud, un-expectantly got me in tears. How can someone dealing with this death sentence condition have the ability to prep talk herself back from this deep, dark & scary hole. The strength and inspiration from my mom since has motivated me to share this story through flowers.