Bigak-bigak

My sister Mae came up with a game when we were kids. It's kind of disgusting when I think back about it now, but it was very fun when we played it. It involved molding mud and pretending to serve them as food. We never actually ate them, I'm happy to report. She called the game "bigak-bigak". I assume because the repeating syllables just sounds dirty, like "burak" or something. We never really got into the etymology. Good thing that came out of that was she really ended up being a great cook (of real food, not soil).

Mae shared a lot of traits with our mother: quick-tempered, stubborn, and argumentative. But like Mama was, she's also friendly, generous, and thoughtful. She's one year older than I am so she went away for college ahead of me. Whenever she came home during her freshman year, she'd bring  me back books and clothes bought from her own allowance. Even now, she likes shopping for us. Although she's often trying to force me with things that are pink, or with ruffles, or anything more "feminine", sometimes she'd give in and get me stuff of my own (less girly) taste. 

Happy Birthday, Mae! Hugs from across five time zones! Love you and miss you all.