Since my brother's summer internship in LA is already half over, my dad decided that is was about time to have a family dinner with grandma before the summer came to an end and he went back to Chicago for school. On Sunday, we drove from all corners of the LA Basin - my parents from the east out in the Heights, me from the Cerritos area after spending the day with the godchildren, and my brother from the westside. I missed out on an opportunity to carpool with him and have some enjoyable conversation and bonding time, which was a bummer. But the fool locked himself out his apartment sublet and was late to dinner anyway.
At dinner, it was the usual. My parents chatted with grandma, while my brother and I chatted about all sorts of nonsense. I think the elders just like having us around, even if we only talk to each other in English. At one point, my ear perked up to a part of the conversation between my mom and grandma. "Girls are getting married later these days," my mom stated to my grandma. Sigh. Which meant that my grandma was inquiring and my mom was making her peace with the status quo of my singlehood. I tuned the rest out and continued talking to my brother.
The lovely thing is that none of them dare pressure me or bother me about that part of my life. I think they find me volatile when it comes to prying about my personal life. Plus their advice and comments have veered toward the comical.
"A girl shouldn't be that smart and get so much education. No man will want her." - what my grandma said to me in college when I was thinking of pursuing a graduate degree
"You should end up with someone who loves you more than you love them, instead of being the one that's more in love. It'll ensure more happiness. Look at your auntie (one of my mom's never married high school friends). She didn't want to settle. She wanted to be the one that loved her husband more and now she's all alone." - what my mom told me somewhere back in junior high or high school
"You know how in those soap operas, the woman gets all upset when the guy cheats on her or treats her badly, and then kills herself? That is very stupid. She should at least kill him first and then kill herself. What's the point of just killing yourself?" - what my mom told me back in elementary school when we used to watch American nighttime soap operas and Chinese soap operas together
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2 comments:
ha ha, i love your mom's advice! that advice just shows you how much your mom loves you & isn't merely showing you how to fit into society or with the in-law's like mine. i would give anything for my mom to be on MY side.
Yikes. At least you can always blame your mom if you end up killing a guy who treats you badly.
By the way, good luck with the performance review.
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