My Dad

A phone coversation with my dad:

Me: Johnny is out of a business trip for a few days.
Dad: Again? I thought he supposed to leave in Jun.
Me: Yes, he still needs to go to the conference in Canada in Jun.
Dad: Are you going?
Me: I thought about it, but you guys would just be here for a day (mom and dad are coming on Jun 13, and Johnny is leaving on Jun 14) The ticket costs me $400, and I worry about Jady causing you and mom a hard time on top of jetlag.
Dad: (giggling) No, you just worry about me punishing your child.
Me: Haha... I didn't even get punished much by you when I was young... you would only spoil her rotten.
Dad: Why don't I pay for your ticket?
Me: No.... I have the money. (I was speechless....)

Why is dad still think about me more than himself? How blessed I am to have such wonderful dad who loves me more than I can comprehend! Dad will be retiring in lesss than a month, and I know he would be using a big part of his retirement money to pay off the mortgage for his other apartment, and my parent's trip to Europe. I know there would not be much money left after paying off all the expenses, yet he still think of putting my happiness first. I am thrill that he and mom would stay with us for three months.

Dad is funny... Mom told me that he has been signing up cooking and magic lessons just to learn to cook and entertain us. Our kids love roast duck, roast pork, soy sauce chicken, and BBQ pork, and so dad signed up those cooking lessons to please his grandchildren.

Dad is handy man and has to be constantly onto something. He asked me for a list of things that I would like him to fix. Of course, I will take advantage of his request. :) My lists are: replacing the kid's toilet, possibly retile the bathroom also. Retile the guest bathroom floor, and the basement. I am sure dad won't have any problem with these projects since he was a carpenter by training, and he loves to be challenged. I will have him help me out with the wood floor if he still bored.

Dad is a serious learner and an active member of the community. He was the finance chairperson (volunteer work) for our apartment complex for over 15 years, and has been taking courses on and off since I left home. In fact, he just fininshed CPR and a nutrition course a few weeks ago. Sometimes, he has such a busy schedule that drives mom nuts. :)

Dad is trustworthy and honest with his dealings. When we were young, dad would encourage me and my brother to study as much as we could, and that he would take care of our tuition until he turns 50. He kept his promise and paid for all my tuition and expenses while I attended BYUH and Texas Tech U. Dad never take advantage of others. Mom told me that some of the volunteers he worked with at the apartment complex were mad at him since dad wouldn't claim the traveling and other expenses from the fund. That cause a lot of conflicts because it means the rest of the volunteering team are not allowed to do so either.

Dad is a great man with a good heart. I asked him one day what he would like to do when he retires. Without a doubt, he said he want to do volunteer work with teenagers particularly being an advocate of drug prevention, or working with elderly. That doesn't surprise me since he completed a psychology class and the drug prevention courses about a year ago. As a matter of fact, he asked me if there is any hair cutting/training classes he could take in the US. He was preparing himself to help some of the elderies at the nursing home.

Dad is quiet but fun to be with. I remembered him teaching me how to swim, taking us to BBQ, and to the beach almost every week. There was a time that I was infected with "red eye", and it was so bad that I couldn't even had my eyes opened. Dad would wake me up in the middle of the night and put eye drops in my eyes. Another time, I was running with a high fever and had a bad cough for a long time- to the point that I did not even want to wake up to eat. He somehow got me the rasins bread and managed to feed me on the bed. Yet another time, I had a swelling gland on the side of my cheek and dad went to ask the Chinese Dr. for medicine. The Dr. gave him dry seahorses and a bunch of other stuff, and told dad to make soup for me. I refused to drink the soup because I felt terrible about those cute seahorses. But dad got me drinking those soup and I did feel better after a day or two.

Dad is persistant. I was in elementary school when I started taking piano lessons. My teacher lived far away, so dad would pick me up after school every Monday... got me my favorite snacks (BBQ stuff, cupcakes, or buns, mango or soy bean drinks) and waited for me in the car until I was done with my lessons. This went on for several years until the time I was able to take public transportation to my teacher's home. There was also a time in my life that I wanted quit taking lessons and my dad was so smart that he went ahead and got me another piano.... that kept me playing for another 2-3 years. :)

I have a good life because of my loving parents, and my wish is to apply them to stay with us once I got my citizenship. Hopefully, in a year or two.

This is the piano I grow up with. Esther's sister helped replacing most of the strings, refinished the outside, and shipped it over to me! Dad said it's the biggest gift that he could give me. I think he underestimate everything he has done for me.