Take Good Care of Her
There was a time when I jumped into Washington State’s Serene Lake and panicked. I barely knew how to swim and frantically moved my body to try and stay afloat. Luckily, I was traveling with a group where there were certified lifeguards. They helped me swim back to the bordering rocks and double-checked that I was okay.
Many years have passed since then. I sat on a beach chair finishing up another book at the seashores of Phú Quốc, Vietnam. I faced nature’s water once more. Not a swimming pool or indoor controlled environment, but the outdoor waters. In between the sea and I was a glass barrier. A barrier of past traumas and fears I had never been able to conquer. “Are you ready to perform once more on the world stage?” someone asked me. I glanced up to see the 15-year-old version of myself. He was dressed in his winter percussion uniform of a side-caped black top, purple-striped light gray pants, and black dress shoes. The past month was a grueling experience of changing narratives, shedding tears alone, and backpacking around Laos and Vietnam. I was ready to move on from the past and create something more. I stood up, looked at the winter percussionist, and told him: “Yes, I’m ready.” Then, as President Regan once said in 1987, “Tear down this wall.” Running headfirst into the glass barrier, it shattered into pieces as I continued onward to join my mom in the water. Immersing myself in the sea, I began swimming through the tides of the Gulf of Thailand. I was doing it! Resurfacing to see my mom, I splashed her with water and thus began the splashing wars. A euphoric side came out of her at that moment as her voice was a higher tone and her smile shined. She bestowed an aura of youth, joy, and happiness. Something that had been dormant for years. A calm lower-toned voice spoke to me as I continued splashing water. “Take good care of her and the family,” it said. I paused and looked toward the voice to see nothing but the sun's rays. No soul in sight, yet I knew it was my dad from the heavens. He entrusted me along with his two other children to take care of his significant other, the person who he chose to marry. The person who he chose to call his wife, and for us to call our mom.
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