When we were young mum and dad would take the five of us to see the fireworks every new years eve. Dad would perch my sister and i on his shoulders and mum would clutch onto little Sammy. We would watch in awe as the fireworks lit up the night sky and sent thuds through our bodies. We would wait all day in the usually uncomfortable heat but it didn’t matter because we were together, as a family.
Ever since we were young dad would talk endlessly about the importance of foundations. He would talk about how we should always strive for perfection and build strong foundations. He told us to approach life and learning the same way a builder would a house. He told us that family was the foundation of everything good in life and that without strong foundations everything would eventually topple over. He couldn’t be more right.
Dad has always said that his favourite time of the day is dinner time because that’s the only time he gets to do what he loves the most – spend time with his family. As we’ve grown up though what was once a daily occasion with the seven of us has been reduced to Sunday nights. Every Sunday night at the Nguyen household is family night. My sister and her husband come over and we are sometimes graced with the presence of one of my sisters boyfriends (rarely though). Tonight my sisters boyfriend came over for Sunday dinner for the first time and it was absolutely wonderful. We joked and laughed about things we did when we were young as mum and dad watched on. I love nothing more in this world than to see that smile on their faces. Mum always makes a really funny joke or whips out her catchphrase ‘who care no one die’. After mum has stuffed us with whatever my brother in law requested for dinner she cuts up fruit and we go on our merry way to play board games or watch 60 minutes.
Mum is absolutely the most beautiful and strangely strong yet delicate person to bless this world. No one makes me laugh as much as she does and there is nothing in this world that she wouldn’t support me through. To this day, i still find that her lap is the safest place in the universe and to this day, when shit hits the fan i still curl up into a ball and rest my head on her lap as she gently holds me. She gets involved with everything that I do and changes her mood to suit mine. During examination period she is a centre of tranquillity and a source of inspiration. She lets my room fall into total disarray without complaint, tidies it when i’m at the library, buys a million boxes of green tea and always makes fish leading up to my exam. She is young at heart and she helps me to keep things light-hearted and fun. When we get a new game she always gets involved and whilst it is initially frustrating to get her used to a new console, she ends up completely owning it.
Dad is and always will be my hero. I will talk about how amazing my dad is to anyone who will listen. He could do no wrong by me. When dad comes home from work I greet him in a comically formal way and if he doesn’t laugh back I know not to bring up jokes, politics or well, anything at the dinner table. Dad owns his own company and built it all by himself from the ground up on his own like only an absolute hero could. The thing that i have always found the most amazing about him is that he runs it completely on his own yet he never brings his work home, never complains about his often twelve hour days and never ever lets it interfere or dim a light on family life. To this day, i still think that the only place in this world higher than heaven is perched on his shoulder, the one i would sit on every new years eve with my sisters hand in mine.
I love that at the end of the day i come home to such a beautiful family. While we are all very similar we are undeniably individuals in our own right and it keeps things interesting. My family is an absolute treasure that i will never take for granted and i am really proud of them. With every little step that I take and every little stumble that I endure, I know with my entire heart that I will never need anything more than these seven (soon to be eight or nine) people. Frankly, to ask for anything more would just be plain greedy.
