Day 73

First day of July! It's getting warmer and sunnier here in Seattle. Despite the long weary walk I had to take (with several breaks to rest my legs, of course), I had a delightful day with my mother and sister —visiting the MS centre, having super yum Vietnamese late lunch/early dinner, watching the good ol' Gilmore Girls series, talking about life and, uhh. . .men, while snacking some Cinnamon Toast Crunch (bad sugar, I know) and banana with almond butter. It's a day well-spent! I wonder how my father and brother are doing back home. Although we much prefer to be together in the same place, I know God has something exciting in store for the five of us.

Having so much quality time with my mother makes me think about parenthood. I love how my parents raise all three of us thoughtfully and purposefully. I know it's not an easy job. It must have drained their energy, emotion, thoughts, money; and it must have taken a lot of prayer, effort, patience, wisdom, team-work. . .you name it.

My parents are not without flaw, which is understandable. There were times in my teen-hood where I just could not stand them, let alone get along with them. But I know for sure: parenting is hard-work, because even after 25 years of marriage, my parents often still argue about training us (who are in our 20s now) in the way we should go. Proverbs 22:6 is tough.

My mother said that these moments are beautiful opportunities for her to spend more time with her girls, while letting my father spend as much time as he can with his only son. What a cool thought. Boys generally are more attached to their mom, right? And Batak fathers watch over their 'boru panggoaran' and 'boru siampudan' a bit too much, sometimes. Ha-ha. My parents are going against mainstream tradition and I am liking it.