Asian Canadian?

So where the heck have I been? I've been around, not sleeping has a way with messing with your head so, even though I've had things I'd like to share, I've stayed away in fear that I would type something incoherent and totally off the chain. I'm sure you've heard enough about Baby E's struggle with sleep so I'll spare you ...for now.

So yesterday was Chinese New Year. Kung Hay Fat Choi to my Asian peeps. It's the year of the Dragon, what that means is beyond me. Which brings me to the reason I'm posting. As a child my family would celebrate CNY in grand style. Granted, we lived in a predominate Chinese community and now I live in Ottawa, where people think great Chinese food comes from a take out place and includes a giant order of Chicken balls and "red sauce''. Let me explain to thouse unfamiliar with Canada's capital city. It's a great place, nice people, clean and family friendly. However, ethnic diversity is nothing compared to where I grew up, Markham, Ontario (just north of Toronto).

Now that we are parents DH and I are very aware of how "Canadian" Baby E will be. Take CNY for example. We did nothing. OK I posted something on Facebook, I called my mom and took Baby E to her great grandmothers to wish a happy new year, but that's it. DH and I give out lucky money not for tradition, but for obligation (since Baby E will be sure to receive some) I didn't go out and buy fresh flowers, I didn't decorate the house or put out treats, we didn't see a dragon dance, all CNY traditions. I'm finding it difficult to infuse Asian culture into Baby E's life. I'm Chinese and DH is Vietnamese, yes there are similarities, but the two cultures are vastly different. I was born in Canada and DH immigrated here when he was 4 years old. Safe to say we are both pretty "Canadian".

I feel like we may be jipping Baby E out of something. I try to speak Cantonese to here (when I remember) but I always forget, since I'm the only one in our family who speaks a different language. I guess I fear that one day, she will be visiting my family in Toronto and wonder why she doesn't understand what her cousins are saying, why they can speak to grandma and grandpa in a different language and she can't. Why they eat congee (Asian rice porridge) for breakfast and she prefers bacon and eggs.

I love that I live 5 hours away from my family, it limits drama but sometimes I wish I lived closer, not for me but for Baby E.

By the way, Baby E will never eat a chicken ball with "red sauce" if I have anything to do with it.