do you ever think of yourself as a stereotype?

when i think of the term "family", the first media image that pops in my head is one of the american nuclear family from the 50s...mom, dad, son, daughter all happily grinning at the camera. today i thought: what does the stereotypical chinese family look like? what would the context be?
what i assume it would be, at least for my generation, is this:
1) comprised of mom and dad...still together in large part for the children
2) mom is a homemaker
3) dad is either an "astronaut" or frequently away from home
4) mom and dad do not communicate much, or rarely show affection
5) said children (mentioned in #1) are given high expectations of their future career (and by high expectations, i mean, "raking in the bucks")

there are probably other traits...but those are the usual suspects.

it's weird...i've always seen myself as being "normal" and part of the "chinese family stereotype" - after all, my brother is in med school and i have law school aspirations (how much more stereotypical can it get?)...but i realized today that all of that has shattered.

we are no longer "nuclear", and things run very differently in this household now. i say these words with no particular regret, but simply with a sense that we are shifting. changing, evolving. through circumstances, however hurtful they were and sometimes are, we had to cope and we have...
as i reflected upon this today, i came to a place of thanksgiving for the unforeseen blessings God has showered on me (and our family) through this "shattering of stereotypes"...

i'm beginning to see that love is hard work...and how it is a lifelong journey.