CHAPTER 48

Original (Published on Evergreen News): 1998-09-01

Rewritten: 2025-05-16

After all, the most difficult first year has passed. Although the days ahead will be busy, there is hope because relatives from both sides have applied to come to Vancouver for reunion.

September 11th this year (1998) marks the tenth anniversary of our family of three coming to Canada. Some people jokingly call me an old overseas Chinese. In fact, I am not old after ten years. There are many people who have lived in Canada longer than I have. But after all, life is only a few decades. Those who can live for ten decades can be called centenarians.

Ten years ago, I never thought I would live in Vancouver for the next ten years. Today, I believe that the remaining decades will be spent in the Greater Vancouver area.

When you encounter hardships and anxiety in life, you may feel that the days are passing by slowly, but this feeling does not last forever. After the situation has changed, look at your daily life. Although life in Canada is often hard and tiring, we share the joys and sorrows with our children, eat well and sleep well, and get together often with relatives, friends and church members.

I returned to my original job as a social worker, and the work broadened my horizons and gained experience.

Except for people and things that are not funny, everything is cartoonized to entertain ourselves and others.

I had a dream recently. I dreamed that I was in my old home in North Point Housing Estate, Hong Kong, sending Lun to school. In the blink of an eye, I lost sight of him. I searched everywhere for him but to no avail. When I returned home, I met my eldest brother and asked him if he knew where Lun was. He also had no idea. I immediately burst into hysterical tears, shouting and jumping, begging God to return my son to me. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I might be dreaming. I woke up at that moment and was glad that the tragedy was just a dream. I immediately went to the next room to check and saw that my two sons were safe, but they were sleeping in a messy way. After I calmed down, I washed up and went to work. In fact, what else could you ask for when you can spend every day with your family and loved ones?

(Thinking back now, what worried me the most at the time was Lun’s condition, so I had this dream.)

Looking back on the saddest moment ten years ago, it was when I said goodbye to my parents, brothers, relatives and close friends at Kai Tak Airport. We traveled thousands of miles away from home and I don’t know when we will be reunited again. I suddenly felt lonely and unbearable. After arriving in Canada, I missed my family even more and sometimes had the urge to drop out of school and return to Hong Kong immediately. After all, the most difficult first year has passed. Although the days ahead will be busy, there is hope because relatives from both sides have applied to come to Vancouver for reunion.

Within four years, my parents, three younger brothers, my elder sister-in-law and my younger sister-in-law arrived one after another. My parents love the peace and comfort here. My younger brothers have also started their own families and careers, and we always get together during the season and festivals. We said goodbye to our loved ones that day at the airport, but I never expected that today we would have meals together every week in Vancouver, chat about daily life, watch the World Cup together, and catch clams on the beach together. Without the hardship of that day, would there be no happiness today?

My two elder brothers and another sister-in-law are still in Hong Kong. Life has been more stressful in recent years and we miss them very much. I wonder when we can be reunited. Looking back, I feel that life is a bit of a joke. If it weren't for that hot afternoon on July 4th twelve years ago when we were lying in bed daydreaming and had the idea of ​​studying abroad, and if we hadn't taken action immediately, we would not have quit our jobs, sold our house, brought, who was not even two years old, and came all the way to Vancouver, where we chose to study a subject that had nothing to do with social work and lived there for ten years.

We have to admit that we were indeed foolish back then, but fools also have their own luck. We spent ten years in the Maple Leaf Country happily and honestly, and now we are waiting for another few decades.