Remembering my Father

Last Sunday would have been my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. My brother and I tried our best to fill the void created by our father's death last year by staging a game night with my mom over the weekend using Zoom. It felt good to be together as a family, but it was bittersweet.

James Savage in 1974, age 18

I was so lucky to have a great father. I've spent a lot of time reading about him and going through his personal letters after his death. I've come to appreciate the depth of hardship that my father faced as a teenager. He moved out of his house at age 16 and was homeless with incredible food insecurity for over a year until he could afford an apartment of his own. He spent his teenage years hungry, poor, and with few friends or family to rely upon. 

I don't think my dad would have ever imagined marrying a wonderful woman, owning a big piece of property in the country, making many happy memories with his family, and raising two sons who would become the first and second people in his family to have four-year college diplomas. I have worked hard to become a physician, but I recognize the immense sacrifice my family made every step of the way to make that possible. I had the happiest childhood and my dad did everything he could to help me succeed in school and life. For that, I will forever be grateful.