Childhood
When I was in elementary school, my dad would always take the whole family on an outing after worship service every Sunday. We would go all over Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories, Yuen Long, and other locales to eat delicious foods. Our family would enjoy being out until the evening before we finally dragged our tired bodies home. From seafood at Lei Yue Mun, pigeon at Sha Tin, and longan at Hong Lok Yuen, to restaurants of different cuisine such as Beijing, Shanghai, dim sum, buffets, and such, we have tried a wide range of dishes. There were many times where my dad would take his business clients to a restaurant, realize it was a good experience, and then he would bring the whole family afterwards. It has become our tradition to eat out at a restaurant with the family after worship service every week.

Youth
In my memories, we didn’t see Dad smile a lot at home, which was intimidating. However, when he was in a good mood, he would take us to try new experiences, such as teaching us bowling. He even brought us to watch some famous Taiwanese singers in concert!

Young Adulthood
My dad unconditionally supported us in our endeavours. When I got my driver’s license after high school, I often needed to borrow Dad’s car to drive my girl friends on the weekends and holidays. At that time, we had a cream white Rover sedan. After driving the car a few times, I took it to the garage to spray it to a yolk yellow colour, which my dad did not object to. Afterwards, he even used his company name to let me pick out a car from the dealership, and he also took care of all the expenses for me!

Between Canada and Hong Kong
My parents returned to Hong Kong after they became Canadian citizens. Every week, my mom would make a long-distance phone call to me. Occasionally, my Mom would ask if my dad had anything to say, but he always said no. We never spoke to my dad on the phone until my Mom passed away nine and a half years ago. After her passing, we started to talk to my dad on the phone on our own, although he still only asked how we were before we hung up. We realized it was challenging to keep a conversation going on a one-to-one call with my dad. Thus, my sisters and I decided to meet at one of their houses every Sunday night to make a joint call to my dad so that we would have more to discuss. About three years ago, my dad finally got internet access at home, and his domestic helper could help him connect to the internet on his tablet. My sisters and I, along with our nephew and niece, began to call my dad through Google Hangouts every Sunday for thirty minutes to an hour. We would often talk until my dad felt the tablet screen was blurry before we hung up. Last October, we even switched to using Whatsapp video calls. Despite the ongoing pandemic, we have been fortunate to continue to meet and chat through video calls. In the video, we could see his delicious breakfast prepared by Dad’s helper, which he would eat while he listened to us talk, and we could watch him enjoy his meal.

God’s Plan
In December of last year, my dad learned he had cancer after a routine exam. Due to this, we increased the frequency of our calls from weekly to daily, starting between nine to ten in the morning in Hong Kong time. We would chat until my dad’s lunchtime or if he needed to leave the house. He would also often have video calls with his great-grandchildren in the evening, watching them learn to walk, run, and talk.

As the pandemic continued, my dad knew that we would not be able to return to Hong Kong in the short term. He spent a lot more time with us on video calls, and our conversational topics broadened and became more emotional, which was completely different than before. I would never have imagined that our video calls would help improve our relationships with Dad. Our hearts had grown closer, ever more than when we were in the same room. In Hong Kong, Raymond continues to experience my dad’s stern side. My sisters and I praise Raymond’s high emotional intelligence because we often see my dad refuse Raymond’s sincere advice. One time, we told our Dad that Raymond has been working hard to assist with his affairs, and we hoped he would give us some words of encouragement to relay to Raymond. We did not expect his response to be, “His recent performance is not bad!” We were left speechless and felt helpless for Raymond. We could only cheer him on behind the scenes!

Thinking back, it felt like a burden to pick up the phone to call Dad because of how difficult it was to communicate with him. But in recent months, we have looked forward to video calls with Dad every night, and it became a joyful time for our family. Now we will feel a bit lost every night without our calls.

After learning that my dad had cancer, we prayed to God for mercy that my dad would not suffer during his last days on earth, and we thank God for listening to our prayers. Although we were reluctant to see him go, we are comforted knowing that my dad is free from worries.

Oldest daughter,
Youk Yee