Father's Day!

Usually, J and Z are in the home country with Father and Mother.  When I arrived on the 16th of May, that made three of us.

Jersey Girl arrived on the 18th from Taiwan, Sister Deer arrived on the afternoon of the 19th from HK, finally, Eldest Sis and Mindy arrived near midnight from the US having taken the long flight together.  The moment they landed, there was a clear majority of the children in Manila.

What a treat to be with home.  Father was celebrating his 80th birthday.

It was great to see everyone and be with everyone.

There were a lot of funny stories.  I particularly love what happened on the morning of the 20 May.

We were expecting Eldest Sis and Mindy to arrive while everyone was still sleeping. Mother woke up early (before 4AM?) and saw one of her daughters walking along the hall. It was Mindy, who was having trouble sleeping as she was still working on Florida hours. 

Mother obviously didn't recognise which daughter was there because she asked, "Is Mindy home already?"

"Yes, Mom.  It's me."  (Or something to that effect.)

Later that morning, when Father woke up, he found us already at the dining table. We were talking about the notes we had left for each other. I had left a note for Sister Deer because I had thought she'd be coming home to an empty house as a result of the doctor's appointments and the last minute changes that happened on Tuesday afternoon.  Apparently she had arrived a bit late so the note was not needed. Jersey Girl had also left a note for Eldest Sis and Mindy about the sleeping arrangements which Z taped onto the door but apparently the tape wasn't strong enough and the note fell off.

Anyway, I found the note for Sister Deer was reading the note as Father entered the room.  My back was facing the door at the time and he was overjoyed to hear the laughter and chatter. 

He joyfully announced, "Oh it's so nice to have everybody home!"    

Then he hugged me from behind and said, "It's nice to have you home, Mindy!"  

I found that so amusing because I don't think I've ever been mistaken for a sibling from behind.  It is usually mistaken identity because of my face.  

I turned around and hugged Father back, "Yes Father, but I'm not Mindy."  

We all laughed.

OK, so we do look alike.

Happy Father's Day, Father!

The greetings are for your birthday in May 

while we were all together

and for today, Father's Day

even if we are apart.