Thursday, September 30, 2010

Blessings.

Monumental moment in my life.

Yesterday, my dad came over to say bye to me since I'm leaving to New York in a few days, and I don't see him very often. Maybe six or seven times a year. He asked me if I wanted to go out to eat and to invite my mom. They have a poor relationship, if a relationship between them exists at all. But, surprisingly she agreed. He suddenly asked, "Do you want to go to Jimmy's?"

"Jimmy's?" I replied. Puzzled, I thought to myself, we haven't been to Jimmy's for 13 years maybe, why would he suddenly want to go?

"Uh....yeah! I mean, if you want to." I replied.

"Let's go to Jimmy's" my dad said, with a smile.

I change clothes, and we take off to the restaurant. Jimmy's is this small restaurant about ten minutes south of my house in San Diego. It's not named 'Jimmy's' anymore, its now called "Family House of Pancakes" but as soon as you walk in, the ambiance is hauntingly familiar. The brown leather on the various booths to the color of the carpets are still the same. I used to go there every single Sunday evening after church with both my mom and dad when their relationship was stable. I don't know what provoked my dad to take us there again, but it was the best surprise I could ask for before I left.

We sat at the same booth that we used to eat at all the time, and we actually had a decent dinner and talked. I know that this probably may never happen again, nor did I try to convince myself otherwise. So I cherished every moment of that dinner. Both my parents sat there, asked me questions about my life and gave me amazing advice for adulthood and for my future. We even laughed at some funny moments from the past and my mom and dad cracked jokes in Vietnamese together.

I sat there and thanked God so much for such a wonderful present. What did I do to deserve this? I'm not sure. But I am so grateful. I think that this may be the best time I've ever had with my mom and dad. I am still dumbfounded by the idea that I had such a solid meal with both my parents in good spirits, but it's a night I certainly will never forget.







1 comment:

  1. wow. This almost made me cry, I can't imagine how cherished this memory will be for you. I'm glad you were able to experience this :)

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