I want to remember.

During the last few months, my parents were in Thailand with us, in what was arguably the most disrupted exploratory trip for a couple of retired parents, ever. (Excluding all the other disrupted exploratory trips out there.)

There were hard parts to their time here (my mom was very sick for a month in the beginning) and there were beautiful parts. Hard things tend to take up space in our minds, so I’m taking time to write down the good stuff.

I want to remember:

sitting around the fire singing at Shekina, my dad sharing words of encouragement with us: “the word “wait” also means “entwine,” so when we wait on the Lord we entwine into him;

Christmas at our house, opening Solo’s amazing owl shirts, the hand-carved wooden decorations made by Leafy, and Kenya’s paintings
many meals around my table
spotting my dad walking around Pai
Dad and Chinua in the workshop together, also Leafy and his Grandpa in the workshop
my mom’s bravery as she fought her sickness
her love for flowers and trees and birds
arriving at the beach after a month apart to find them both tanned and healthy
my dad riding a rented bicycle (he told me a Thai man called to him, “Very handsome on your bike!”)
so many dinners around the table at home in Pai and by the beach
jokes and talks with three generations, lots of laughter
singing together in the evenings, Praise Adonai especially, and Seek Ye First
Mom and Dad’s daily walks in the pool
walking to the beach together, looking at birds
Dad playing in the waves
Chinua and Mom looking at birds on the porch with the bird book open
Mom’s bravery when she had to get on a long tail boat (not her favorite) to do a visa run into Myanmar, just before the border closed
all the love and work of being in the house together