Vora Family Bay Area Reunion…briefly
This past Thursday my Mom, Dad, and Sachi arrived into town from Reno on their cross country road trip. Later in the evening, Sapana flew in from Chicago — all five of us together again.
But just hours after arriving, the phone call that haunts all Indians in the US arrived: my grandmother’s health had taken a sharp turn for the worse. It was likely that my Dad would have to head to India immediately. We explored some flight options, then slept on it knowing the next checkpoint would be in the morning. We weren’t sure whether there would be enough time so Dad could stay for my graduation on Sunday. Early next morning, I got a text saying that it’s go time.
Travel arrangements were quickly finalized; the Shahs helped us out big time by planning to meet Dad at the airport in Raleigh with his passport, and that was it. We just spend the rest of the day trying to compress five days worth of discussion into six hours.
It’s alright — we’re strong as a family not to make missing a graduation a big deal. And it’s right for Dad to be back as soon as possible for this and what might follow. He felt good that he got to spend four whole months with her when he went to India after retiring in February. Some context: Dad left home for college when he was 15 years old. Since then, he couldn’t spend more than two months at home due to vacation time, college, work, etc. Things are different when you make your home in America with the entire rest of the family back home in India. A few years ago, he and Mom happened to be in India for Diwali – one of the biggest celebrations of the year. It was the first time they back home in India for Diwali in 25 years — that’s equivalent to missing Christmas at home for 25 years. Earlier this year, Dad got the chance to celebrate Holi with his family for the first time in 40 years. So he should be back there.
I feel regret that he won’t see Yosemite next week though. Dad has been a longtime fan of Ansel Adams, and ever since seeing that iconic photo of Yosemite he has wanted to visit the park. We were going to be there on June 20th, his birthday.
Posts will be sporadic for the next week as I put aside work to spend time with the family.
mary Said,
June 14, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
I’ve been meaning to say congratulations on graduating! So sorry to hear about the illness in your family though. You and your family will be in our thoughts/prayers.