My mom turns 60 this year! Omg. I cannot believe it, because she has always seemed ageless to me. This year as a gift to my mom and dad, I bought them and myself tickets to Yosemites as well as a promised itinerary. No fuss, no stress. I will plan everything and they just show up.
That is how it should be anyways. When I was young, my parents did the same thing for me. Now that I am old enough to have common sense and knowledge how ‘Merica operates, I need to put in effort.
It was also important for me to just pay for this trip. I have been very lucky because even when my family was poor, my siblings and I still had opportunities to travel. I got to fly at such a young age that I sleep like a baby on planes. I am that comfortable.
In one of my previous post that explains hiéu, I talk about this sense of wanting to repay your parents for giving you the life you have. I think that is the biggest Vietnamese value I believe in. I mean my parents disagree on a lot of cultural things, but this is one I got on board with from Day 1.
My parents has given me the best life they could for me. I am very grateful to be born and raised in the United States. When I visit Vietnam, I see exactly what I have and what my life could have been. I will save my parents’ story for another day.
My parents were boat people and refugees. They are the biggest risktakers I know.
They have a lot of interesting stories. I hear them talk about it very often , and I just admire their bravery. I can’t say that I would be just as brave as them if I was in the same situation.
I try to treat them when I can. I would say they are more financially secure than me, so sometimes I feel like I can never give them what they deserve. However, I try to show it in my own ways. This future Yosemite trip will be a good start, especially since we all love to travel.
Stay tuned for posts about the overall park experience, how I got there and how much the trip costs.
-Amy
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