Avi Wald is 64 - My Dad's Birthday

Better than focusing on the memorial day for his death, I'd rather be happy at my father's birthday which is today. As the story goes, my father's father was notified of my father's birth and said something along the lines of "Don't fool me, it's not April fools anymore". Well, it wasn't, it was April 2nd, 1949. My father was born into a completely different world than I was, no doubt about it.

I still miss my father and frequently think about him. His death has been a great loss to me and our family. But life goes on and as our death is imminent, we might as well use the little time we do have to celebrate what we've got.

Here in Bangkok now, I've been very happy to meet two of my brothers and half of my nephews. The youngest is called Aviv and when saying Aviv Wald (the W sounds like a V), it sounds the same as Avi Wald, my late father. Aviv means spring in Hebrew while Avi is the shortened version of Abraham (Avraham in Hebrew).

Here are some picture fragments from the past

My father with his parents. All now buried in the same cemetery.

My mom organized a trip for my father's last living birthday, hiring a whole bus and a guide.

So yes, my father could still smile beautifully while knowing his death his near

 

Purim family picture with my parents and brothers.

My birthday at the kindergarten. Center out: me, my parents, my older brothers, my grandmothers and then my father's father. The rightmost woman is.... hmmm.... have no idea...

Avi Wald with all of children in the swimming pool. The last days here in Thailand, Ofer spent a lot of pool time with his kids. Another generation getting soaked and happy :)

My parents at my brother's wedding, or some briss, or somewhere where you gotta wear a suit.

So happy 64th birthday dad! You're in my heart and mind :)

You may wanna see previous blog posts about my father's death and his tombstone. His Colnect collector profile is still publicly accessible though he hasn't used it in a while.