Travel with dad

1. My friend's childhood was without a father. His parents were in a difficult situation: His father joined the army and lost contact with his ex-lover who had promised to marry him. Decades later, he had the opportunity to return home, and she was a single mother with two children, abandoned by her husband who was addicted to alcohol and sex. At this time, his father already had his own family, and his mother had given birth to his two sisters.

Your second sister died young, after a bout of malignant fever when she was just 4 years old. Your father, for unknown reasons, stayed in the countryside, carrying baskets and trays with the woman who had sworn to love her forever. Leaving your mother waiting alone with an incomprehensible silence. You grew up without a father's love, and the poverty of both mother and daughter. At that time, women were abandoned, and being a single mother was a great humiliation and misfortune. Your mother, whether because of the indifference of her lover or because of the harshness of life, became a grumpy, cruel woman. Whenever she encountered difficulties or misfortune, harsh words were spoken about life and the deceased, followed by words of self-pity. The unfortunate daughter - my friend - was the trash can for the mother to pour out all her frustrations and compassion.

My friend grew up in tears. And luckily became a strong woman. I say luckily, because she said many times she thought about dying, running away from home… Many girls in her situation chose the same path.

You just celebrated Father’s Day - the third Sunday of June - by going to Da Lat with your father. The man of your mother’s past, the day you met your stepchildren, your miserable children, left his wife - left the love that he traded his wife, children, and his integrity for. When they met again, the love could not be rekindled. “But no matter what, he is still my father” - you said. They have known each other for more than 10 years, but this is the first time you have taken a trip to Da Lat with your father, mother and yourself. Go, and understand that, oh my, both the woman and that ascetic man love to travel so much, even though “travel” is not in the dictionary of your parents’ life thoughts. Go, and understand that there are values ​​that are priceless, like waking up one morning, seeing dad reading a book by the window with endless green pine trees, seeing mom after a long time, a very gentle and soft woman with her children and grandchildren and the only man in her life. Just that alone warms the heart, but makes the eyes sting.

I was also moved, especially when I heard from a friend recently that your father was battling cancer. Forgiveness and love may not prolong life, but they certainly add value to life.

2. Another friend of mine often shares on Facebook the moments when his family takes pictures together. In the city center park, on the lake near his house when the golden sunset gently falls on the Goong lake water... The three of them, sitting in a wheelchair. His wife, gentle daughter, strong son beside him. I see all their faces exude a peaceful look that softens my heart.

Your father was an archaeologist. It was impossible to count the number of steps he took up the mountain and down the sea, going everywhere. The most memorable one was one Tet, when we were still very young, sitting at our friend's house wrapping banh chung, when we saw your father walking into the house. Tall, with a big smile, on his shoulder was a dusty backpack, in his hand were several kilos of fresh meat. He spoke as if joking when he said he had walked for nearly 2 days and nights, about 100 kilometers from the mountains to Vinh because it was difficult to catch a bus during Tet and because he wanted to save some money to buy meat for his children to eat during Tet. During the poor Tet, the father walked and the kilo of meat in his hand was like a sweet song in our childhood. That father with legs that seemed to never get tired, finally had to stop and rest. My little friend from the past, like me, is a mother, enough to understand how boundless a parent's love is. You said, your summers were sweet before with interesting trips to the forest, to the beach, to places where your father worked, and being carried on his back when tired. Your summers are now even sweeter when you are with your mother and younger brother by your father's side, being his "legs" whenever he gets tired of sitting in the wheelchair. Just watching the sunset on the lake near your house, walking in the park, is as full of joy and happiness as any interesting trip.

Hey, have you ever traveled with your dad? – The girl I mentioned at the beginning of the article asked her friends on Facebook. And she said, let’s go, while dad’s legs are not tired, let’s have a delicious meal together while dad’s teeth are still there…

Vo Thu Huong