2020 has been a bad year for many, but for local former actress May Phua, she faced a double whammy — she lost both her parents.
On July 30, May shared that she lost her mother. And on Saturday (Oct 17), the 44-year-old revealed that her father has died as well, just slightly more than two months after her mother's death.
Image source: Instagram / iammayphua
May took to her Instagram account to mourn her father by recalling an incident that seemed to have happened when she was much younger, when he taught her a big lesson in life after she had made a mistake.
Image source: Instagram / iammayphua
She wrote: "I did something extremely disappointing. He only had a few dollars in his wallet but he still made his way to come to me. Utterly shattered by my actions, the deafness on the way home enveloped me with guilt. He never spoke, with rounded shoulders and fallen chest he sat back and stared into space.
"Many days later, he came to me. [He said] 'May, I have never expected you to behave like this. I'm very disappointed in you. No matter how bad or poor we are, we have to hold ourselves up high. Do not be ashamed of being poor. You have disappointed me, now it's up to you to earn back the respect you have lost.'"
The actress-turned-fitness-coach admitted that this incident taught her to "hold myself firmly responsible for every action and decision I make in life" and "to be very hardworking and earn my right to be respected".
She added: "This is my daddy. He takes it upon himself to hold the family, he bends and works himself to provide. He endures and push through months and years of solitude working overseas to bring food to the table.
"Today, he has left to join my mom. Sigh... I can't bear to let you go. Why so fast daddy?"
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A Father's Love I did something extremely disappointing. He only had a few dollars in his wallet but he still made his way to come to me. Utterly shattered by my actions, the deafness on the way home enveloped me with guilt. He never spoke, with rounded shoulders and fallen chest he sat back and stared into space. Many days later, he came to me. "May, I have never expected you to behave like this. I'm very disappointed in you. No matter how bad or poor we are, we have to hold ourselves up high. Do not be ashamed of being poor." "You have disappointed me, now it's up to you to earn back the respect you have lost." My dad wiped his tears as he said this. This was one of the many lessons firmly etched in my heart. From then, I hold myself firmly responsible for every action and decision I make in life. To live with honesty and integrity. To be very hard-working and earn my rights to be respected. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying not to crack. This is my daddy. He takes it upon himself to hold the family, he bends and works himself to provide. He endures and push through months and years of solitude working overseas for years to bring food to the table. Today, he has left to join my Mom. Sigh... I can't bear to let you go. Why so fast daddy? . #onarollercoasterride #mypillarofstrength #howiremeberyou
A post shared by May Phua (@iammayphua) on
This article was first published in AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
Lead image source from Instagram / iammayphua.
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