Chinese New Year

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year/Vietnamese New Year/That Day Where All the Chinky-Eyed Folk Hand Out Red Envelopes Full of Money.  Per the request of my father, I went over to my Aunt’s house to have lunch with three of my Dad’s sisters and his brother.

I started attacking the food with my chopsticks but unintentionally faltered when I tried to deliver the food from bowl to mouth.

My Uncle asked me (in Vietnamese), “Do you know why you keep dropping everything?  …Because you didn’t light incense for your [deceased] Grandpa and now he’s not letting you eat.”

My Aunts and Uncle howled in laughter when my sister and I skipped out of our chairs to run up to our Grandparents’ altar.  He might have been joking, but I would like to believe that what he said is true.

It’s a nice thought… that my grandparents’ souls float around me, half to protect me, half to slap the food out of my hand when I forget to honor their memory.