Happy Retirement To My Parents!

Blog post dedicated to my parents on their retirement!

Dad with my niece, Vivian

Mom with Kaylee




Mom and the girls of the family

With my sisters and and sister in law

With sister and Niece



Two babies of the family



What we call our home now wasn’t easy to begin with. My father was taken away from our family to a concentration camp where he was tortured and punished by the communist during the Vietnam War. Since my father scarified for his country we had the opportunity to go overseas and start a new life in America, the land of new opportunities.

My oldest sister was left behind with her family in Vietnam and was not able to start a new journey with the rest of our family because her husband and children were not allowed to come. My parents envisioned a new beginning and to achieve a life that they have always dreamt of.
In 2008, our family was reunited again. My oldest sister made a journey for herself to start a new life with her children and husband in America. 
It’s been two decades since our family made the biggest decision to start a new life. My parents didn’t know English, but was able to find jobs that paid enough to have a sustainable life.

Service jobs that paid little, but required a lot of work, my parents stuck it through to give their children a life that they never had. They wanted their kids to live out their dreams and accomplish goals and to have success. 20 years have passed that they have solely been dedicated to their children. New things were foreign to them just so they can give their kids a new set of clothes for school. Until this day they would do anything for their children.

My parents recently retired from their jobs and now able to fulfill a peaceful life of no worries. The kids are grown now and are so thankful for everything. Now it’s our turn to take care of them.

Happy retirement to my parents, thank you for everything you have done for us!

{ Post by my sister Lena }

Comments

  1. awwww what a great story!! congrats to your parents on their retirement! you have such a beautiful family!

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  2. What an inspiring story and such a beautiful family! xxx

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  3. What a beautiful and inspirational story, Yvonne. I cant imagine what it was like to escape from war and migrate to a country where you knew nothing about, not even language. I am grateful i was born and lived in a fairly peaceful country like Thailand. The cruel sides of wars are just horrendous. Your dad is quite a hero to brave a whole new journey. Even me who know English and a degree had a challenging time adjusting when i first arrived here. Your parents are inspirational, they should write a diary and pass on thea legend to their grandchildren. I think that woukd be a great gift. Happy Retirement to both of them.

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  4. Wow, what a beautiful story! And what a gorgeous family. Congratulations to your parents on a MUCH deserved retirement!

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  5. Although we don't know each other, we have the exact same story. First generation children with parents who sacrificed everything to get out of Vietnam. Thanks for sharing this story.

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  6. What a beautiful and inspiration story. Congratulation to your parent for a much deserved retirement. My parent and in laws also migrated to the USA after the Vietnam. I am forever thankful to my parent to their sacrifices. I'm glad your sister was finally able to join you. You have a beautiful family.

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  7. Its time to sit back and relax and try and do things they could not when they were young. Its amazing how much parents do for us> I realize how much it means to them after I had my baby. That is unconditional love!

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  8. aww thank you so much for sharing this story! it really does put things into perspective. congrats to your parents on their retirement! xo

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  9. how amazing its awesome to hear that your parents can enjoy their retirement now. i'm sorry to hear that your father's been through such a horrific past, but im sure both your parents worked very hard to give you and your sisters a wonderful life and that's just beautiful

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  10. these are beautiful pictures!

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  11. I could really see close resemblance among all the girls in the family. No kidding, even your sister in law looks like one of you.

    I'm so glad you shared your parents' story with us readers. I've never read anything about your family here and it's an eye-opener to learn about their inspirational story from you. I cannot imagine what your dad had gone through but without him having gone through the horrifying torture, you and your family would not have the chance to relocate to America. Such a happy ending that your sister also managed to join the whole family and that your parents could finally retire after working so hard over there. One thing about Asian parents (non-asians please don't shoot me) would be their resilience. They somehow do not show their love as openly but they do so by being resilient and silently doing many things for their children.

    This is a really heart-warming post.

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  12. Wow, your parents went through quite a bit! I'm glad they can now retire and hopefully be able to do everything they ever wanted to do :) I love Kaylee's little striped dress - so cute!

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  13. Your post brought tears to my eyes. Amazing what parents will do for the sake of their family as a whole. Your family's story epitomizes the American Dream. Now that your parents are retired, they can enjoy the fruits of their labor...through you and your siblings and the grandchildren......(still teary eyed). Thanks for sharing Yvonne.

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  14. very touching story. great to hear that they are well and in a good place now. you have a beautiful family, and may God bless your family! :)

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  15. What a beautiful family! Love Kaylee photo bombing the family photo ;). What an amazing and also sad story that your dad had to endure! Thank goodness for a new life here, a reunion, and now blissful retirement. Good for you and your family to take care of each other in their old age.

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  16. such a beautiful family and what a great story. Happy retirement to your parents!

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