daddy wants a new dress…?

Mom: Show your dad the dress I bought you.
Me: Daddy, look. Isn’t it pretty?
Dad: Ah, you are so lucky; I do not even have one beautiful dress.

I love my dad.

loose fruit etiquette

As I was washing the dishes, I turned around and saw my dad eating with a spoon out of a bowl. He had already finished eating dinner, so I wondered what he could be eating for dessert. Turns out he was eating a bowl of blueberries, scooping them into his mouth with the bowl right up against his face, the way a little kid would. He is so quirky (read: strange) and adorable sometimes.

smells of adulthood

When I was younger, my mother would come home and my brother and I would rush down the stairs to greet her. As she walked through the door, especially in the wintertime, a cold gust of air would blow in and carry her scent along, too. The smell was a faint mix of fur from her mink coat, leather, and a cool sweetness which I came to associate with the city over time. I remember I would peek into her handbag, curious to see just what important items a working woman carried so I might be equally prepared for the professional world when my time came. Everything seemed so grown-up: a worn leather wallet, reading glasses, her work ID, a copy of the Chinese World newspaper, and cough drops among the crumpled (but clean) tissues littering the bottom of the bag.

As Justin greeted me with a hug as I walked into his house on Tuesday, fresh from the city, I must’ve carried its smells with me, too. It was a few months late, but the realization that I’m a tax-paying young urban professional (yuppie, hah) finally hit me – time somehow passed in the blink of an eye. I’ve grown up, graduated college, and my parents are older now and closer to retirement. My mother no longer works full-time in the city, but the stress from her last job relegated her to being mostly a house wife and a part-time Chinese teacher in Long Island. She groans after bending down for too long due to her weak joints, squints at menus in restaurants for several minutes before grudgingly pulling out her reading glasses, and sometimes dons a pseudo-cast for her arthritis-ridden hand.

As much as I have been itching to move out and have my own life, perhaps choosing to be independent at this point in time would be a poor choice. After four years of teenage angst and four years away in Boston, it seems foolish not to take the time to spend more time with my parents, especially now that things between us have calmed down. It pains me to face the fact that they are in their 50s, health problems and all, yet still working as hard as they did years ago to secure my brother and my future that we might enjoy our youth instead of slaving to escape poverty.

To close, I think it’s incredibly interesting that the rough segue to my relationship with my parents caused by my subconcious feelings of regret, nostalgia and sadness was triggered simply by one of the five senses.

I want to end on a happier note, so here is a snippet from our dinner conversation this week. I submitted to Mydadisafob.com, but I can’t be sure if it’ll make the cut. Here it is, anyway:

At the dinner table…
Dad: You know, I was thinking today about all my accomplishments. I have two kids, two cars, two houses… but only one wife! (hearty laughter)
Mom: (no laughter, raises an eyebrow.)

Oh, daddy… pretty sure that solidifies my belief that Asian dads are a different species of man, altogether.

generations

Because the boy is in Hawaii, most of my time this holiday season has been spent with my parents. And it’s been oddly refreshing… We visited the brother in Philly on Christmas day and had the chance to see his new place, an old cigar factory-turned-loft and I got to finally meet Charlie He’s a very shy but sweet cat who loves playing with a red shoelace.

Anyway, what I want to remember for the upcoming year is how blessed I am to have been born into my family, with an admirable brother who is following in the footsteps of my very hardworking parents. I was just in the kitchen talking to them, asking them about how 401ks work and housing mortgages, and that of course led to another conversation about how hard they had to work during their youth to secure two homes, pay off my brother and my college educations without financial aid, for my mother to be retired at 50, and for their bi-annual vacations including cruises to the Mediterranean, etc.

I can understand why they look at the way I spend money and get so frustrated; I seem to always forget that they had to struggle through grad school with the language barrier and also hold a side job to pay for continuing their education. And two years out, they saved enough for the downpayment on the old Elmhurst house – much like what my brother is doing now.

More than anything, I’M frustrated with myself. It’s unclear to me how or when material things became so ‘necessary’ to me, but I’m hoping to change that slowly. It’s true that my only expenses right now are leisurely / frivolous ones; my lunches are paid for and technically, so is my rent – so for 2009, I must monitor exactly where my money is going & continually evaluate / re-evaluate if my purchases are for things that will build myself and my family a better life.

2009 Resolutions, 3 days early:
01. Save money & make smart purchases, start tithing!
02. Walk with God, fellowship?
03. Be good to the rents, maybe a monthly dinner out.
04. Less anger.
05. Be a good steward of my position at work (this one, is of course, from the brother).

it’s all coming together

Work is work, the boyfriend is finishing up this semester soon (and will hopefully have a good review), things with the parents are back to normal (my mom’s nagging is so minimal its unbelievable), the 3-hour-a-day commute has become routine, and somehow, even my house feels warmer now (truly mindblowing). If only I could get back on track with God (seriously), find decently-priced black boots, and lose 10 pounds (i’m starting to hate the subtle belly i have), life would be divine. I mean, things COULD be ideal but now is not the time to complain given the fact that the economy’s not doing well, I have a roof above my head and a job, my health and youth, family and friends.

I haven’t heard from Augustina in a looong time, ever since I sent her that package I wonder what’s up with that? I hope she’s healthy and doing well…

Seriously though, about the getting back on track with God thing.

random waterworks

This is definitely a sign that I’m either

a) Not getting enough sleep
b) Stressed from work & coworkers
c) Unhappy with my position / career / career path / TITLE
d) Going through separation anxiety from not seeing the boy
e) Upset & indignant about the situation with my parents
f) Coming down with a cold / sore throat
g) Hating my freezing house and damn commute
h) ALL OF THE ABOVE

Have you ever seen a multiple choice question with 8 possibilities?

PS: ‘H’ is the correct choice Whine whine whine whine etc.