FAMILY DRIVER

My Father Greg got his driver's license a year after he arrived in North America. It was really hard for him to adjust at that time upon arrival shocked of the winter cold coming from a tropical country. His first step is to work and how much was his disappointment when he learned that his job would be a mall cleaner. I didn't know this made him cry when I learned the garbage bag that he threw up to the garbage bin burst and he was hit that he almost fell to the ground. He felt angry landing on this kind of job whereas his job where he came from. he was a manager. Yes Operations Manager of a shipping company. He would sit down inside his office and instructed his subordinates about the task they are suppose to accomplish, Imagine how he hated my Mother Carmela not telling him what kind of job he will get in a progressive country like Canada. That was his feeling during the first three months of his stay but he began to adjust himself later on. My Mother tried to appease him by getting him enrolled to take driving lessons. I was wondering why my Mother didn't try to learn how to drive. I think she must have no money since her work was cleaning three houses for three families. Her employer picked her up in the morning and brought her back in the afternoon. As newcomers I was inquisitive how teenagers learn how to make friends at school too, My Mother was very busy about her work. My Father just do his daily routine at the mall and meeting some new friends, At the end of the year my Mother was able to buy a second hand car and my Father was able to passed his Driving Test to get his licence, This time he began to be cheerful when she met women as his co-workers. My Mother knew Father will be amused especially helping them at work. I don't know what was the real purpose of my Father to befriend women. My Mother used to say "If that is what makes him happy then let him be". These women befriend us also which make us with my Mother comfortable. There were three kinds of Driving Test to be pass before a driver is allowed to drive by himself. The G License holder can drive already in major routes including the highway. It made my Father very happy to have one. Another thing that he was very proud of even he is a cleaner was that he could drive and own a car. He can not afford to buy a car in our home country being so expensive, Driving a car made him feel he is already ahead if he compared his life before not to be able to drive a car at all. The other thing that made him feel better was the kind of life he used to spend with his co-workers usually after work going to the bar and nightclub. He was also a heavy smoker. My Mother noticed that he didn't do this anymore since he arrived in our new country. " I threw away my last stick of cigarette and forgot to drink'. he said. Maybe his reason was to regain his health which his medical record to allow him to travel almost failed due to his smoking. My Mother knew his illnesses bothered him. his shortness of breath and coughing due to his emphysema. He didn't mind of it enjoying his new experience driving my Mother to her work. One time she met a friend at the mall asking her if she can recommend a babysitter. My Mother said ":Yes" In exchange my Father was hired by her being a Human Resources Manager of a manufacturing company. The more my father became excited even he was assigned in the night shift This time he had to change and buy another car, He traded his car and chose a newer one to drive it for long distance , We planned to have a trip to a tourist spot about three hours away, My Father Greg was not familiar when navigating the expanse of highways and road fast lanes. As an adult careful driver he chose not to indulge in racing with other cars. When we decided to travel and visit the world reknown Niagara Falls tourist spot my Father Greg our family driver prepared himself for this trip. Where to exit was his only problem, That means his attention is focus on his destination , When he sees an exit sign he drives through until we realized it is a wrong exit, On our trip my eyes sitting beside him to help him navigate the road I tried to focus on the road exit sign to avoid getting lost, No matter how much did I concentrate telling when we would exit when I said "It's near." he already exited. Then we had to go a long way to go to the main road where we came from. He is still good in driving when that happened so we were able to reach the beautiful and scenic Niagara Falls. We parked our car at the designated spot then we entered the building to view the waterfalls. It is really a wonder where the water is coming from falling and flowing continuously downstream. The falls supply electricity to the whole city and surrounding areas including water consumption. It was a day trip for us. On our way back home we dropped by the Butterfly conservatory. Many butterfly species were found flying inside the enclosure. Blue red variegated winged butterflies freely fly from flower to flower and they can alight to any part of your body if they wanted to. We rested a little bit so that my Father Greg could drive back vigorously to our place. When we got home my father went to bed right away, He might be very tired for the long drive, I thought we could have a sleepover at a hotel. Oh well , we'll see to that on our next trip. For the next few months my father had increase coughing and shortness of breath attacks. His doctor increase the dosage of his puffer and prescribe an additional one to be taken once a day, the other one was taken as long as it is needed. He had stopped working so it was my Mother Carmela who continued working where my father had work too. My mother didn't mind having done it for a long time expecting her full retirement. They planned another trip to go to the other side of the border. He parked his car at the train station then boarded the train to go to city then board a transit to the airport. It was a short flight going to New York then they took a taxi to the port. They checked in to go for a cruise to Bahamas. My father was an entertainer as a karaoke singer. Every night that he went to the Karaoke bar of the ship he sang and many people love it that they went to watch him each night. He was so happy and delighted that she didn't have time with my mother but he was there at the bar to meet his fans. It was a very enjoyable trip that to my mother it was a chance for her to rewind and relax to be on vacation out of work. Then my father's illness became worse going to the emergency room at the hospital frequently, Then one day he was rushed to the hospital with no vital signs. It didn't take long when the doctor told us that his heart attack damaged him internally so no surgery cannot help him. We then lost our family driver,