FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 2, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
vschneps@gmail.com
Going through my family’s
old photo albums has
brought so many memories
out of hiding — some good,
some sad, but isn’t that what
life is!
I’m getting ready to move
and I never realized the pain
it would cause me. Th e realtor
went through my house, which
is fi lled with a lifetime of collections,
and said, “You have to
make this house look like vanilla
to make a prospective buyer
see themselves living here, not
you!” Th e thought of that rocked
my being.
I took for granted the photographs,
the items purchased
from my travels around the
world and the art collected
through my years of living.
It’s almost like a
museum of my life
and now I’m being
told it must go or be
hidden from sight!
Somehow, it hit me hard last
week!
I had invited my stepdaughter
to visit and see what she
might like to have for herself
or her boys, nieces or siblings.
I had moved into the home her
mom and dad originally created.
When her mom died, Stu and
I married and made the decision
to stay in his home since
he found moving abominable. I
added my touches to the house
to make it “ours.”
It was that way until his death
a few years ago and now I feel it
is time to move on to a condo
rather than caring for a big
house.
A house is like a bottomless pit
each day, not knowing what will
need repairs! Right now, it’s the
air conditioning, tomorrow the
septic tank, then lawn — you get
the idea.
Although I’d made a big move
when my son Josh graduated
from high school, selling my
home in Melville and moving to
the Bay Club in Bayside, somehow
I had forgotten how painful
it was.
When Mimi came, I was
happy to have her take
whatever she wanted, but
i t
was still hard to see the things
go. Th en a consignment business
woman came the next day and
identifi ed what she felt she could
sell in her store. I started to feel
like my life was being peeled
away from me and it wasn’t a
good feeling. I just hadn’t anticipated
the emotional attachment
I had to so many of the “things”
in my house.
It took a few days to get my
balance back. I was watching
a Netfl ix show called “Th e
Politician” and I heard one of
the characters say she was selling
off her clothes and jewelry and
that “these are just things that
I’ve had for a while, and now it’s
time that they pass to someone
else.” Th at really resonated with
me. My hope is that what gave
me pleasure will now give others
the good feeling I felt by having
them in my life.
Ironically, the apartment I’m
moving to is a fully furnished
model. It’s like a beautiful hotel
room with everything there for
me, but I still need to put “me”
into it, to make it my own.
At fi rst, I was so disheartened
Blake’s graduating middle school gave me
reason to celebrate during the pandemic.
by giving up so much of my past.
But now that I’ve had the chance
to think about everything and
truly feel the emotions of the life
I’ve lived, I feel I am prepared to
move on.
From the sadness came joy
by seeing my grandchildren and
knowing that they are my legacy
— not the “stuff ” in my house!
Victoria’s
DIARY
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
tweet me @vschneps
My life is a roller coaster ride
The story of a dragon fruit
It seems like yesterday
when I went to
Beijing with Asian
American Hotel Owners
Association and the
America-China Chamber
of Commerce.
I was invited to join the
delegation by Th omas
Chen, the CEO of Crystal
Windows, who created
an enormously successful
window company that he
began in his garage and
turned into an international
success story.
A group of about 20
people, many from the
New York region, were there to talk to potential
investors from China to convince them to invest
in their American businesses. Th e U.S. government’s
EB-5 visa program off ers a green card to
Chinese nationals who invest at least $500,000
in an American business. I had been invited
to be part of the group to advise the
business people about how to best
work with the community when
they arrived in New York.
One morning at a bountiful
buff et breakfast in
Beijing, I was sitting
with the leader of
the delegation,
Dragon Deng.
I asked him
where he was
from and he told
me Long Island,
so I asked him what
town. He said Roslyn
Harbor, and I said I live
there, too. It turns out he
lived around the corner
from me! How extraordinary
that we had to come
halfway ‘round the world
to meet each other.
When we got back to
New York, he introduced
me to his wife Lily, who I
have come to love.
Lucky for me, she had
invited me to her home
recently for a delectable
seven course Chinese
meal. So, I invited her
to my backyard for a steak and potatoes dinner.
She delighted me with a gift of dragon fruit,
which was as delicious as it is a work of art made
by God.
Here’s to friendships and the
roller coaster ride called
life.
I was delighted
to receive
this exquisite
dragon fruit
as a gift! The
fruit inside
is very sweet
and tastes like
cranberry.
It was a joy of swimming with Hudson
and Sloane, making my spirits soar.
Lily and Dragon Deng with Ed
Cox at the opening of one of
their iFresh supermarkets.
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