New Year's Eve sitting and watching parents

The most emotional moment of Tet for me is New Year's Eve. On that occasion, I always choose to stay with my parents. Only when I am with my parents do I feel protected and sheltered because I have experienced the New Year while my parents are still busy on the road.

At that time, about 30 years ago, my family had a bus, running from the countryside to Mien Dong Bus Station - going back and forth during the day, my father was the driver and my mother followed along to collect money, pick up passengers, and do all sorts of miscellaneous side jobs. During the days before Tet, the demand for going back to the countryside increased, every year my parents registered to run extra trips on long routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City - Quang Ngai.

On the trips to the Central region, my parents were gone for two days, and we three children stayed home to take care of ourselves and advise each other. One time when my parents left and the bus departed quite late, my mother called home to give us all sorts of instructions, especially: " If by New Year's Eve we haven't returned, you should make an offering yourself , then lock the door carefully and go to sleep . " From that moment on, I was anxious and scared, but I also felt my responsibility to make an offering on behalf of my parents and keep the spirits up for my siblings.

That day at home, the three of us had cleaned the house, everything was ready to welcome New Year's Eve. From 9 pm, the three of us sat outside on the steps, watching the lights and the familiar sound of motorbikes. At first, we were still talking and laughing, but then the atmosphere gradually quieted down, weighed down with anxiety, partly because it was late at night and there were no adults at home, we were scared and even more worried about our parents on the road with unexpected traffic.

The youngest child kept hugging her arm and asking: " Why aren't mom and dad home yet ?" Every time she asked, her sister became more anxious but just mumbled to get it over with. At 12 o'clock, when the neighbor's house started to set off a few series of fireworks, I urged my two younger siblings to help her prepare cakes, flowers, incense, and candles... Then, following my mother's instructions, I prayed to heaven and earth. I felt the sacred moment and suddenly thought of the loneliness of the three of us on New Year's Eve without our parents and my eyes filled with tears.

That night, my parents came back when we were already fast asleep. They brought back a luxurious spring with two very large pots of chrysanthemums. My mother said: " I passed by Nha Trang on the night of the 30th and saw that the flower seller still had a lot of them so I bought them ." At home, there was a branch of apricot blossoms that my grandmother gave me and a lot of marigolds. My mother also said: "Let's miss this year. No matter how much money we have in the future, we won't go far. On New Year 's Eve , we were still wandering around the streets in the car, looking at the crowded houses , thinking about our three children at home made me cry."

Now, I wonder if there are still extra buses taking people back to their hometowns on the last days of the year, dropping off passengers and then turning around, rushing on empty roads because at home, the children are waiting for spring to come from the presence of their parents to feel fulfilled and secure.

Since that New Year's Eve, no matter where I go or what I do, I always feel that Tet with my parents makes spring complete. For more than ten years now, every year I return home to celebrate New Year's Eve with my parents. Sometimes when my friends invite me, I also have the idea of being a tourist to celebrate Tet in a faraway place to experience the feeling, but then I immediately dismiss it because I still like to celebrate New Year's Eve at home with my parents. Moreover, both of my younger siblings have families, and every year they only come home on the 1st and 2nd. If I were absent again, my parents would surely feel lonely while the surrounding families are happily reunited.

Every year, on the night of the 30th, after my mother prepares the fruit offerings, she goes to bed early. My father sets the alarm to wake me up about 15 minutes before 12 o'clock to boil water and make tea, set the offerings, change into a neat shirt and pants, and light incense. My mother gets up, puts on a warm coat, puts a handful of corn kernels in her pocket, walks around the garden, and a moment later, my mother comes into the house and gives each of us a handful of corn kernels with the wish: "May the new year be as sure as corn! " Every year, my New Year's Eve is as peaceful as that. I am grateful for this peace and warmth and wish for nothing more.

GOOD MOON

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