beyond.cloud.nine

in 7 days, my little sister and i will be in the arms of our dad, who we haven’t seen in over 5 years. i really do not know what to expect, but what i do know is that this will be a very emotional and rewarding reunion for both my little sister and me. 

our dad was incarcerated when i was only 8 years old, my sister at 5 years old, and it wasn’t until 5 years ago that we saw him for the first time since he left us at that very young age (15 years). we’ve communicated through hand-written letters throughout the years, but not being able to hear his voice or see him definitely took a toll on our childhood and has shaped us into the adults we are today.

even with his absence, my dad always made it a priority to be in our lives, even if it was through snail mail. some of the many values i hold stem from my dad and what he’s taught me. being a part of gang life and having been the drug dealer and addict that he used to be, my dad had many regrets, and his way of redemption, he decided, was to make sure that my little sister and i would never face a life like that; that we would grow up educated, loved, and always moving forward. i’ve always respected my dad for this, and seeing him next week, i will get the chance to thank him in person, as i hug him, for helping shape me into the competent and confident man that i am today.

this trip will be good for my sister and i. not only will we get to see our dad, we’ll have some time to bond as siblings, something that is very rare, since we both work full-time and live in different cities. we get to visit our dad friday through sunday morning, living in a shared space with him with the extended family visit in the prison via a mobile home, and on sunday and monday, we’ll get an opportunity to sight-see in seattle. things that we’ll definitely do:

1. visit the first starbucks

2. visit pike place

3. go up the needle

4. shop, shop, shop

i really don’t know what else there is to do there, but i’m sure looking forward to it all.

morning FaceTime with the bestie:

me: who you be making friendship bracelets for, and why haven’t i got one?!? rude!

Tamerlane Vuong Sanchez Jr.: i made it for myself!

me: you do realize that the point of friendship bracelets is that two friends make them for one another and they switch, right?

Tamerlane Vuong Sanchez Jr.: well, i made it for myself. i stood in front of the mirror, said, “look! i made this for you!” and then, i put it on myself.

me: (-___-)