Happy Chinese New Year

This year for Chinese New Year, I did not celebrate with my family, but rather, my best friends. Truly, I felt touched by their sincerity and their hospitality. I suppose that many, or perhaps all of them, instinctively understood that the occasion and event had a great significance to me. And they all made me feel like family.

I, once again, felt I had a family that I never knew but always loved. I thank God for these precious, precious people.

Waking up early in the morning, I really did not know what to expect from the day. Little things bothered me, and many plans seemed to go awry. Yet, after praying, the day brightened more and more. I suppose the turning point really came when I met up with a friend, who - to celebrate the occasion - wore a little bit of red in the form of a hair band around her wrist. The patience she had listening to my worries and frustrations touched me and lifted me from my fears.

Then, the accommodations and happiness of my long time friends just hit it home.

I know that the party was not the most fun party I have ever thrown. The conversation might not have been the most engaging. And because I was running around trying to cook and eat at the same time, I could not fully devote my attentions to making the group a more cohesive whole and entertain them at my best effort.

Yet, looking on it, none of that seemed to matter when I saw them. It was very simple, they knew the day was important to me and they came because of it. The idea brought tears to my eyes. I don't really know if they knew that I had celebrated Chinese New Year with my mom all these years, and that every time had been a special time for me. I don't really know if any of them consciously knew, that this year, more than ever, I felt homesick and lonely thinking about the New Year.

Yet, the lengths they went through, their sincere smiles and understanding, and even just their mere presence really touched me.

My family.

I do not know what I did to deserve all these wonderful friends. I feel most of the time that I probably do not deserve them. Yet, I thank them from the depths of my very being for everything.

I did not want to cry in front of them, but, in the privacy in my own room, I can shed my tears freely. Thank you.


This year has started wonderfully.