Chinese Wisdom and Garlic Chicken

While sitting at our favorite little dive-of-a-place Chinese restarurant (the same one where the old guy wants a piece of my hair to carry around in his pocket), the little Chinese lady (not the one that thinks my husband is funny, the other one who calls me Mama and Heath Daddy) came over to our table and asked if everything was all right. Only one out of five was actually eating and two of the five were nowhere to be seen.

No. Everything was not all right.

She looked so concerned, though, so instead of giving the customary Oh, we're fine or Everything's good, I looked her straight in the eye and said Family Drama. I bet you had your own share of days like that.

She didn't smile or nod her head and hurry off to her other tables. Instead, she sighed heavily and in broken English, began to tell me her story. Moments like this I tend to memorize and although I'm sure I don't have it word for word, but I think you'll get the general idea. This is what she said.

I have only one son, not many children like you. He was ten when my husband died and it has only been me and him. We depend on each other. When my husband died, I only have my son and I not speak hardly any English when my husband died. So my son go with me everywhere and he tell me what is going on. He read the map and tell me where to drive. We lean on each other. He is thirty-six now and a good son. We lean on each other twenty-six years ago. Just my son and me. I didn't raise him; he raised me.

Then she smiled and spread her hands out over our near empty table and scarcely eaten food. What you have here is family. You have fun and you fuss, but you have family. You are good family. You fuss, but you are together. You good family. Mama and Daddy and children. Good family.

Yeah. At this point I was about to cry, too. She patted one kid on the back and went on her way. The missing two members joined us about a minute later and the entire atmosphere had been changed. I got a thumbs-up from one, and at the same time everybody started reaching for the rice and garlic chicken and saying please and thank-you. We laughed and talked and ate and read fortune cookies out loud. The fussing was over and the good was back.

She was right. We are a good family. We are together. We fight and argue and bicker, but we are together and I think after tonight and the wisdom of a little Chinese lady that calls me mama, I think we're all a little bit better.