Mama Arrives in Canada

I took the day off today to pick up my Mom from the Vancouver International Airport. Mom was originally planning to come in the summer to stay for two years under the requirement of her Canadian Permanent Resident Status Renewal Plan. She found a deal online to fly from Chengdu to Vancouver for only 2,066 Yuan, instead of the normal 8,000-10,000 Yuan. It was quite controversial for her to come during this global COVID pandemic, but it was a deal she didn’t want to pass. Mom was blessed to land in Vancouver safely. The trip from the airport to the ferry terminal was stressful because her flight was delayed and it was the last ferry back to the island. Anyway, it all worked out and we are now home safe and sound.

Tomorrow we start our 14-day mandatory quarantine.

Mom’s back. Jan. 29, 2021

The Last Day in the Year of Goat

It wasn’t a good night, but it was a good day.  Both kids were extra needy last night.  Multiple wake-ups to screaming baby and clingy toddler.  After a broken sleep, I was up at 7:30 to get ready for countdown in China with Mom, Dad and Yuhan.  WeChat has a cool feature for multi-screen sharing, so we used it to be together virtually to say goodbye to the Year of Goat and welcome the Year of Monkey.

Later in the morning, Anya and Serena went to Nana and Opa’s house for a visit.  Griffin was sleeping and I was reading in hopes to finish the Think and Grow Rich book.  For some reasons, I really wanted to finish it on this last day of the Year of Goat.  Perhaps the idea of closing a book on the last day of the year was attractive to me.  I ended up finishing the last chapter.  It felt good.

I spent the whole afternoon helping Mom cook Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner.  We made eight dishes together.  It was great fun learning how to cook Chinese dishes from Mom.  I think she enjoyed my company.  She told me a lot of family gossips that I’ve missed over the years being in Canada.  It was a nice bonding time with Mom on such an important Chinese holiday.  I felt bad about having my Mom here so far away from our families and friends.  That sad feeling quickly evaporated when my in-laws came and we all enjoyed good food, good drinks, and great companies.

Some recollected random thoughts of the day:

  • Goat also stands for the Greatest of All Time.
  • Griffin is a goat.  My Mom is a monkey.
  • Which book should I read next?

Daredevil

Almost every Monday night we have dinner at my Mom’s house.  Mom cooks good food for us.  We laugh and tell stories.  Serena has a good time playing with new toys.  Everyone is just generally happy.

Today, my Mom tried to discipline Serena.  S has been a bit loud in her highchair, talking a lot, and not eating her dinner.  In Chinese, Mom yelled, “Serena, you are not being polite.  It is now time to eat your dinner.”  Serena squinted her eyes and softly said, “You are not my Mom.”

Serena did give Nainai a hug later and said she was sorry.  What I was wondering was that at the age of two, how could she come up with such clever response?