In the summer of 2006, when I was pregnant with Chloe, Andrew and I took my parents on a cruise to Alaska for my dad’s 70th birthday.
Our cruise started from Anchorage, Alaska and took us to Vancouver, Canada. From there we took a flight to San Francisco to visit my dad’s side of the family. During our stay, my dad’s friend from Korea insisted that all of us come visit him before we leave. He was my dad’s middle school friend who immigrated to U.S. after college and they have not seen each other in years. We tried to cancel the get together because his house was a little too far away from SF downtown, which was where we were staying. After several attempts to reschedule, we ended up going there. Andrew and I were just tagging along not really knowing why we had to drive over 2 hours to Silicon Valley for a lunch. When we got there, my dad’s friend and his wife welcomed us to a lunch at their country club and afterwards to their ginormous house. The house was a magnificent mansion with a tennis court, swimming pool and a beautiful patio area situated on top of a hill. As we sat down and started talking we realized why they insisted on having us over. When my dad was about 12 yrs old, they were good buddies in school and my dad invited him to his church which lead him to become a faithful devoted Christian. In the back of his mind, he always wanted to thank my dad for leading him to Christ. Their kind hospitality warmed my heart and that whole day’s experience will stay with me forever. What a great testimony… They are so wealthy but yet so humble and so down to earth. They use their house to host Bible studies, invite people over and to serve God’s people.
When I think about my dad, he’s a man of few words. Most of the stories I know about my dad is because either my mom told me or someone else did, like his friend from the trip. He never talks about himself and bragging is not something he’s familiar with. I would’ve never have known that he helped so many people if they didn’t show up at the airport to say good-byes to my dad when we were leaving Korea in 1989.
My mom always tells us that he is solid like a rock. Unwavering. Sticks to his beliefs. Unrelenting in his viewpoints, morals, and values. A steady stable reliable person. And he is. Though he’s such an easy target to make fun of because his unique sense of humor, I have a tremendous respect for my Dad.
Happy {belated} father’s day, Dad.
Some more pictures from the trip:
We looked so young!
Celebrating my dad’s 70th birthday.
5 month pregnant with Chloe
