Reconnecting With My Old Man
This summer I will co-present an academic paper with my cousin on hybrid web app design and development at the InSITE 2017 conference in Vietnam. In addition to attending the conference, I wanted to take the opportunity to reconnect with my old man. This is something I have wanted to do for years. In fact, I wrote this seven years ago:
What if I just take two or three weeks off go back to Viet Nam and just lock myself in with him 24/7. We’ll just hang out and travel together as father and son, something we had never done. Will that help reconnect our relationship?
I am still feeling anxious about it because we have been apart for so long, but I need to do this. He is in his 80s and time is running out on us. I wanted to take our entire family back, but the thought of having to take care of three kids on a long flight and in Vietnam had frightened me.
I am grateful that my wife is not only willing to take care of the boys for two weeks, but she has also been very encouraging. She understands how I feel about my relationship with my dad. I still don’t know how he feels about me, but I am his son after all. Time and distance have not changed that. All I know is that if I don’t do this, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I really wish we could be closer, but if I don’t make the move, it won’t happen.
Except for three days at the conference, my only plan is to be with him 24/7 for ten days and I am looking forward to it.