Parental Guidance

My parents loved her. Loved her. I thought the minor difference in race might be a problem -- my parents, like most Chinese parents, prefer their children to marry Chinese. But when I brought her home that autumn, she was so wonderful and respectful to them that she had instantly won her heart.

I figure I was the same with her parents. I was careful (with her guidance) on how to behave with her parents, though I found that I just needed to extend the same courtesy as I would have any Asian parents. They seemed to accept me just fine, and often invited me to dinner. (At some point, they almost expected me to eat at their place!) I didn't understand a lot of the dinner talk, but I could learn.

To me, that was key. We both have strong family values, and good relationships with our upper generations, and it was important to each of us that the other got along. How else would you be able to continue a close union of two people with that kind of permanency?