taking the relationship to the next level

so i'm home for chinese new years. it's a pretty big deal in chinese culture, and for my family. it's like thanksgiving, easter, and Christmas, all rolled into one. anyways, my parents were kind enough to buy me a ticket to come home (nat went to go visit/help out a friend this weekend, which is why he isn't here).

anyways, i thought my mom was excited b/c she missed me (which she did), but i think that she's also really excited that we're starting to relate more like friends than mother-daughter. tonight, it was new and weird as she asked about married life and what nat and i fight about etc. don't get me wrong, it's great, but for me and my family (and i think it's typical asian), we aren't ones to "open" up and just talk about things like that. throughout my life, it's typically a conversation between parent and daughter. it hasn't been until probably the last few years where it's started changing.

i think that it's more drastic now b/c my parents see me more like an adult now that i'm married. i think in their eyes, that's when i became an "adult", and started treating me more like a friend. they kinda did that in grad school, but i still felt a little bit of "parent-ness" in our relationship. it's been freeing to feel like i'm an "adult" that makes my own decisions now. for instance, this week, i wrote an honest e-mail about why i want to go into teaching. before, i would have been scared to write such an e-mail for fear of disappointment, being reprimanded for my choice, etc. from my parents. and it was still a bit scary, and i still had some of those feelings, but it was nice to just be honest about it.

anyways, it was weird talking to my mom at dinner with her sudden openness and asking all these questions. she was giddy like a school girl (man, i'm going to be like her when i'm older! =P). but then, it reminded me a lot of when my mom goes back to taiwan and talks to her mom about her marriage and life. so, i get the feeling that my mom has been looking forward to this (and it makes it easier since nat's not here so we get one-on-one girl time). it's weird/neat/awkward, but hopefully i can adjust quick and share with her more. :)

just to end, this is our first time that we've been apart since we've been married, while we're still in the US (last september i went to rome first for a conference, and nat joined later). i miss my handsome redhead. le sigh, i guess the sheets will have to suffice without my inferno next to me. (if you haven't slept in the same bed with a guy, they're hot [by that i mean temperature]. i thought nat was fevering the first week we were married!)