I was debating whether to go back to china vs spend time with my parents in houston. When I heard my parents was going back to china, it made the decision easy.
Besides many small reunions, we had 3 big ones in Tianjin my home town where most of my relatives still live.
First, was my uncle's birthday dinner party. He is my moms brother. He and his wife are the closest relative on my moms side. I grow up with their sons in china like they are my brothers. One of the sons, zhao Peng, were able to make it to the dinner from Beijing. The other who live in shanghai was unfortunately too far to make it. We had a banquet of food and great conversation about politics and past memories
Second dinner was a reunion of all my dad side of the family. I have 4 first cousins I am very close to, especially weiwei who you always see me in photos with. She is basically my big sister. We of course had another banquet and again talked about life philosophies, parenting techniques as most of us now have kids, and of course childhood memories
Third reunion was the night before I was leaving to home. It was only for my cousins and their spouses - no elders no kids. We had hotpot. I didn't know what to expect regarding conversation but it was simply AWESOME. I found out how smart they all are as well as what they currently are learning or struggling with. We spent 4 hours together and it flew by. Our conversation went very deep and my heart is warmed with the memories of their passion, wisdom, openness, and love for life and for our little gathering. Thanks to we chat who most of them have, we can keep in touch more easily. ;-). They usually won't see each other except twice a year. Now they will try to gather once a month and probably send me pictures of good food to make me jealous ;-). I feel so enriched by this overall homecoming experience. We are all grown yet we still can be so close. I am very thankful for that.
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