My Hero-Remembrance of my father: Li Jinhua
January 17, 2021, a very sad day,
My father passed away suffered from covid-19.
Although it has been a week,
I have been writing articles in memory of my father,
But unable to complete. Every time I pick up a pen,
every time I look at old photos of my father,
Every time I can’t bear tears,
the great sadness makes me unable to continue,
Only a few words can be completed every day.
covid-19 started from the other side of the earth.
After more than a year, the situation even
become more and more severe.
After the US election in November,
the pandemic took a sharp turn.
A large infection in area of Chinses Community started.
On Christmas Eve 2020,
it should be a family joy, reunion event,
However we had bad news came,
My father was unfortunately infected with the covid-19.
Every day is a difficult day,
The first thing when I get up every day is facetime with my father.
before the call, I was so much afraid of bad news. that I must gain
the enough courage to make the call.
Dad’s condition flipping between good and bad,
the virus is cunning and brutal,
It’s unpredictable, every day is like riding a roller coaster,
In the end, the father left us, we lost him forever.
Father’s love is the most precious kind of love in the world.
Father’s love is a book, too deep to finish reading,
Father's love is a sea that no one ever drive out of that vastness.
Nothing can be enough in returning such great love,
only thing can do is writing
some words to remembering him.
My father: Li Jinhua, 1944.10.14-2021.01.17
Born and raised in a small village in Fujian: Tingjiang.
during the war era,
grew up in the new China just founding period,
from a poor family, the early days were very tough.
During those years, education was always too luxury,
and my father never finished junior high school.
he had to start making a living
and contribute to the family at young age.
He went to the small mountain village next door named Xibian Village.
As an apprentice in a small department store ,
All kinds of tough task, all kinds of tired jobs.
He is a well-known honest and humble man,
never compliant , always finish tasks
in efficiency and good quality.
People like him,
they call him "Dian Zidi" (cute small shop clerk).
There is a place for carpentry work next to the small department store,
Every time he took break,
He went there and watched, memorize what he saw.
remember the craftsmanship of the carpenters.
The woodworking skills he learned secretly during this period
benefited him in his entire life.
Dad’s good reputation is out there,
so naturally many people are eager to come to do matchmaking.
When he was 25, my mother was 19
they formed a family together.
Since then, my father has added a few of
the most important roles in life: husband, father.
Dad did such a good job and set up such a high standard
for the Li family’s descendants.
A high benchmark that nobody can pass.
In my memory, my parents ever fight once or twice.
What is popular among Dad’s generation
is tough on kids sometimes violent.
but that is not his style, he is very open-minded.
Although he is not good at words,
he always leads us by himself as role model.
Focusing on education for children,
he leaves us a with trust and freedom of choice.
He told me that good education cannot determine everything about a person.
How to be a good person is judge by what he actually do.
So in the course of my studies,
there was never any pressure came from him,
Only his unconditional support.
In the first few years of the parents’ family,
children were born one after another.
Life is so touch .
At that time, there were few income channels,
and it was not easy for a family of six.
Dad’s ancestral craft is to make tofu,
which is kind of a small handicraft workshop.
The grandfather's generation stopped for many years because of
policy of chinses government not allowing small businesses.
In last century 70s, the policy was gradually liberalized.
My father thought about reopening this small business.
So he spent all life’s savings and traded in the old house
, bought a small house in the commercial street of Tingtou Village.
The house is small, but it is big enough for our family.
From then on, life began to go smoother, we live hard and happy way.
Dad also started to take on woodworking work,
The woodworking skills learned at the young age was showing it's power.
The level of technic had gradually improved, and his reputation has also grown.
Many people only know that he is a carpenter,
but do not know that he actually made tofu as family bussiness.
Our family’s life has since entered a period of stability, a stable income,
The family leads a happy life.
Then my eldest brother went to the United States, and I came to Canada,
My sister immigrated to Hong Kong,
and my parents and my younger brother immigrated to the United States.
The United States and Canada are very close,
I am in Toronto, my parents and my brother live in New York,
only take 8 hours to travel by car to visit each other.
Over the years, I took a lot of photos of my father,
by Looking at these photos, feel sad that he is no longer around.
Photos of parents when they were young (taken at Fuzhou Zoo)
91年送我上大学（厦门鼓浪屿拍摄）
following are photo taken when they live in north america.
tree house building
craft making
looking at these picture, I couldn't control my emotion crying.
In the last moments of Dad's life, he was so calm and peaceful.
In the video call with him before entering the ICU, my dad looked at me with a smile.
He said that he has been very satisfied in his life and has no regrets.
No matter what the result is, it is acceptable.
He worship the lord. I think he knows where he belongs to.
At this moment he must be watching us from the heaven.
Rest in peace, Dad, everything is well in heaven!
Dad is moral man, he is my Hero.
here is link to the whole album.
http://aws4.micsapp.com/mapp/Gallery/?tag=father.tag
This song is dedicated to him and also entrusts his children's infinite thoughts:
You Raise Me Up
Josh Groban
When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up to more than I can be
Click the link below to open the album link to view more photos: