I don’t usually order from catalogues, but recently I just HAD to buy this dragon pin.  I will wear this pin proudly as “The Dragon Daughter,” who is the family caregiver for my mother. It has been a difficult journey, which began unexpectedly with the sudden death of my father.  With all the responsibilities and daily tasks related to being a family caregiver, I quickly became “The Draggin’ Daughter” – draggin’ with fatigue and worry. Useful resources and information that I found to help me handle the financial, legal, health and other issues related to being a family caregiver empowered me to evolve from The Draggin' Daughter to The Dragon Daughter. A product of an immigrant Chinese-American family, I think the Confucian virtue of filial piety (孝, xiào) is just in my DNA.  I assumed the role of caregiver even though I didn’t grow up reading The Analects.  Nor did I see the example of my parents caring for their parents, whom they had to leave behind in war-torn China in the 1940s. Two-thirds of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders age 50 and older are immigrants.  I believe the story of our community going forward should focus on the Draggin’ Daughters/Sons who seek to honor their parents with filial piety while trying to balance family caregiving with the many other responsibilities of life. The key to evolving into Dragon Daughters/Sons will be to empower themselves with information and prepare in advance for their family caregiving role.  We can all wear a dragon pin with pride.

– Lily Liu, AARP Historian Emerita and Family Caregiver

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child