My Farther was a family man, and I am honored to
be his
daughter.
Through our childhood, the family went on
different excursions
almost every weekend; he came
home for dinner instead business
entertainments; he
chose swimming as a sport because it's less
time
consuming and it's a necessary survival skill for us
to learn;
he was always available whenever we were
troubled by different
issues, although he might not
have an immediate answer, but he
was always there to provide his love and support.
He was thrilled to be a grandfarther. He spent quality time
with every grandchild, shared special interests with them. He
offered to baby-sit, but never tried to interfere with our way of
raising children.
We live in the same building, had dinner together whenever
possible. Because I have young children, he did not involve me in
the recent events; he did not want the children to be influenced by
negative thoughts at such a young age. Through out this difficult
period, he played his Grandfather's role until the end: the children
just learned to bake cakes and we would all sing “Happy
Birthday, Gung-Gung” because he would happily accept it at any
given time; the kids would bring chocolates to share with him
because he was their “Chocolate Gung-Gung”; he would roll
around the bed with them playing “Steam Roller”, walk around
the room being “Choo-choo train” at their request; they would
play “ambush” game when we went for walks after dinner, and
Gung-Gung would always be “scared” when intercepted; the kids always asked for him to play “hide and seek” because he
was fun and patient. He shared his last breakfast with the little one,
because the baby wanted to try something new on his plate. He
was available for them to the very end.
The weekend before he passed away, I went to see him at his
study. He sat me down and told me three things: “I did not steal;
please take care of Mom; take care of Kennon and the children like
you always did” I was confused by his words then, and I still can
not comprehend how difficult it must have been for him.
Although the end came so abruptly, I still feel well-loved. I
cherish all the moments growing up, the fond memories, the lessons
he taught through his own behavior, the good values he
instilled, and most of all, the love he gave.
“Thank you, Dad. I love you.”
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