Miki's dad

Transcript

This weekend I attended the wedding of a former graduate student, who was also a fellow teacher at my university. Miki did her Masters thesis under my guidance, and she's one of my favorite people.

Miki is the oldest of three children in her family. Her mother died when she was a teenager, and she helped her father raise her two younger brothers. When she was a graduate student, she told me about her family, especially her father. For several years I have wanted to meet the man who struggled to raise his children without his wife and who did such a great job.

At Miki's wedding I finally got to speak with her father and her maternal grandparents. Now I understand where she got her best qualities as a person. Some people strive for wealth or fame, but Miki's parents obviously put their energy into raising their children to be good, independent adults. And after Miki's mom died, her dad continued to be a strong, loving father.

I felt honored to meet this good man who raised his children to be such wonderful young people. He thanked me for teaching his daughter and for giving a speech at the wedding reception, but I was grateful that I finally had a chance to thank him for being Miki's dad.