I Suck At Hanging Out With My Parents

tonight, karen and i had dinner with my parents. since we returned from our vacation to the bahamas near the beginning of the new year, we have not had the opportunity to see my parents to tell them how our trip was and all that. yes... i suck at hanging out with my parents.

perhaps it is a maternal thing, but my mother has a way of making me feel guilty... especially when she asks about when i can come over for a visit. her asking is like one of those "i miss you, please come visit" type of requests. and naturally, since i'm the prodigal son, i must... return.

as much as i love my parents, they stress me out sometimes. perhaps the stress comes from the fact that my parents do not believe they comprehend english that well and subsequently asks me to do everything for them: read mail, complete any and all applications, figure out some annuity they purchased a long time ago, look into social security benefits... whatever, you name it... i have to do it. sometimes, i don't think they even try to read or comprehend things and simply ask me to do it for them. (maybe that is why my brother moved away to texas.)

i probably should not complain. my parents are great. it's just that currently, i feel like there are a lot of "to-do's" currently on my plate. so adding more to that list of "to-do's" only stresses me out more. it's funny how my vacation to the bahamas was over a week ago and already, i feel like there is a huge weight on my shoulders again. sad.

anyway, dinner with my parents was good. as usual, my parents made way too much food for dinner. and you wonder why i'm shaped the way i am... years and years of being fed tons of food while being a member of the clean-plate club. making it worse... the food is delicious. i was spoiled growing up because my parents cooked such good chinese food. karen's family can attest to the deliciousness of their cooking now... as well as some of my friends (like marc, jen and bill). (for anyone curious, my parents made scallion pancakes, some dumpling thing, some noodle dish, and some chicken dish for dinner... all of which i'm not sure about how to describe or name.)

afterwards, karen and i hung out with my parents. my parents actually gave us a lucky money envelope (the red envelope) to give to karen's grandfather for his 96th birthday. we were asked to tell karen's grandfather to use the lucky money to purchase a drink. the red envelope was funny. and of course, my parents presented me with some other additional "to-do" items.

all in all, it was nice having dinner and seeing my parents. i love my parents.