Tet Nguyen Dan or the Lunar New Year arrived on Saturday. I headed over to my grandma for a visit and brought a special New Year's box of Asian-flavoured bonbon from Onyx Chocolate. I had ordered 3 ($30.88/box) for my grandma, my mom, and my sibling. With $25 shipping and tax, each box's cost was adding up. This was the sort of gift where you were vague about the price to blunt any familial concern about expense.
Unfortunately, I didn't meet my sibling at my grandma's as planned. They had to stay home to take care of their spouse because the latter had major surgery last week. Things went well but it turned out they needed some antibiotics for a possible infection. In any case, they will have to convalesce until mid-March.
Speaking of which, March was the due date for one of my cousin's second child. The baby's progress had no hiccups until early Saturday morning when he was born prematurely. So my latest nephew will have to spend time in the NICU. The parents were emotional with both happiness and worry.
My cousin who was planning to relocate to Calgary with their partner had volunteered for a lay-off package because of work stress. With six months of severance as buffer, they wanted to try being a waiter. I knew they were a serious amateur cook but restaurant work doesn't seem less stressful. Also, the pay would be significant less than for a Silicon Valley remote worker. Finally, there would be no opportunity to continue their digital nomad lifestyle. So I'm not sure how carefully they've thought this through.
So a day into the New Year has brought several life-changing events to my extended family. With my aunts heading to the old country this week, there might be even more news on the horizon.
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