Every family needs a chronicler. And when my first child was born I decided it would be me. I wanted to write down every moment, every movement, every sound of my newborn daughter. I bought a camera and was snapping photos all day long.
Scrapbooks were catching on in Hong Kong at the time, and I liked the idea; the way energetic, creative mums would combine photos and craftwork with captions, write-ups and affirmations. Not only were these family scrapbooks works of art, they also made sure that nobody forgot when children got their first tooth, tied their shoe, or rode a bike for the first time.
I began writing monthly one-page letters to my daughter, telling her the news of the month - 'I took you to see the beautiful purple flowers that bloom on the hillside this time of year. You sneezed.' - accompanied by a page full of photos taken throughout the month. I laminated these pages and had them coil-bound, then presented the 'memory book' to her for her first birthday. It became a ritual.
Two years later, her little sister was born, and the memory book for that year had a cover shot of the two of them under the title 'Three's company: the year you became a big sister, and other great things'.
From then on I wrote for both of them - about their first trips to the dentist and doctor, their first days at school, their first dance recitals and races won, their holidays and friends. I wrote about their achievements and their parents' and sister's pride. I wrote about broken arms and disappointments and friends who moved away.
Sometimes, I included quotes, such as those from Disney films: 'The greatest gift and honour is having you for a daughter.' (Fa Mulan in Mulan), 'Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one.' (Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas), 'Remember who you are.' (Mufasa in The Lion King). In later years, my choice of affirmations reflected their growing maturity, and I offered Chinese proverbs: 'A parent owes a child two things: roots and wings,' and Gandhi: 'We must be the change we wish to see in the world.'