happy 80th birthday mama

There are relatives. And there are Relatives.

For the most part, I get along well with most of the people in my large extended family – I actually like going visiting during Chinese New Year. I don’t mind people asking me the same questions every year (‘Oh so where are you studying now?’, ‘Wah London must be so expensive, right?’) and stating the same obvious facts every year (‘Wah! You look very different now, you’re so much fairer than last time!’, ‘Wah! The food in London must be very delicious.’ etc). I find it all rather entertaining.

But then, there are the Relatives that are self-righteous, narrow-minded and have a extreme case of the persecution complex. Oh, and did I mention they are also zealous religious converts?

Them I try to avoid as much as possible, to no avail. It’s sad, but true. Of all the Relatives I have to put up with, these I have to on an almost-daily basis due to the fact that they are my mother’s siblings. And it grates.

So, it’s all very well that I see them everyday at dinner. And I see even more of them on Saturdays when everyone comes round for dinner at my Grandmother’s house. I put up with them and their bible-thumping ways, and they continue tsk-tsking about my ‘worldly manner’. I am the black sheep they love to hate.

But what happened this afternoon takes the cake.

Given, they have very different views on secular celebrations such as birthdays. So we had to invent a reason for going to a restaurant for dinner with my Grandmother other than that it was her 80th birthday, like my brother would be going for training in Thailand for a month, and I hadn't eaten chilli crab the whole time I've been back. Excuses like that.

And we informed them of the arrangements maybe two weeks in advance, telling them that we would be bringing my Grandmother and them for dinner tonight. You would think that it was more than enough pre-warning, and that they’d write it down or keep today free, seeing as they would be getting a free dinner at a seafood restaurant courtesy of my parents. But no, they’ve gone off to god-knows-where. Without informing any of us. My mother only found out when she rang her mother up to tell her what time we would be picking them up.

Didn't your god teach you basic courtesy? Would it not be only good manners to inform the hosts of any changes in plans?

So thanks for not showing anyone any respect, not even your own mother. And thanks for making my holiday less pleasant that it could have been.

These good and godly people leave a bad taste in my mouth with their preaching at me and then going on to display their utter lack of respect for other people and their feelings. It’s things like these that make me so glad I won’t be sticking around for much longer.