I flew to Toronto to pick up my father and take him on a massive tour of China while I work. Best friends.

A dream came true for my father and I. I took him on a week long tour of China while I conducted my business along the way. This man kept up and was impressed with everything we saw and did.

For a guy who considers his father his best friend, this was a trip of a lifetime... for him and I.

It was a last-minute idea, and thankfully something pushed me to think of this as the entire world shut down due to the Pandemic several months later.

The conversation went something like this:

George: "Dad, want to come to China with me?"

Angelo: "Yes, when?"

George: "Next week, I already bought your ticket"

Angelo: "PAME (let's go!)"

With some last-minute drama at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto with my father's Visa, we managed to secure it in time. I took off from Los Angeles, landed in Toronto where I would meet my father so we can travel together to Hong Kong, the first leg of this tremendous Asian Tour.

My father was recently retired after selling his restaurant of 35 years. Although we have travelled together in the past to Greece, we have never done a big international trip of this magnitude. 73 years old and several cities on the China tour, I was not sure Evangelos could keep up with me and the schedule. I was wrong.

PURPOSE OF THE TRIP?

To show my dad what I do when I go to China monthly. I wanted to get him out of the restaurant mentality and to show him what it is my company does, how we manufacture, how we sell and to show him what I do. He was aware as we talk almost every day on the phone and is my biggest fan and supporter (along with my incredible mother, Dimitra).

Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guzheng, Shanghai and several smaller towns in between. We took planes, trains, water taxis and tuk tuks to get around. From factory to factory and partner to partner, my dad was loving his time. And knowing how proud he is of me, this was my time to show him what he helped raise in me and to show him what I am doing with my life (professionally).

Asking a million questions along the way, we bonded on another level. We shared stories we have never shared and had a lot of "us" time that we never got in the past, always distracted with the restaurant, the kids, the family... life.

LEARNING ABOUT YOUR FATHER AT 40 YEARS OLD

Sitting on a staircase in the city of Shanghai as we wait for the rain to stop, we started talking about life. My father opened up to me about a story that got us both emotional and appreciative of the bond we have together. I saw the tears in his eyes and I will forever remember the place we were sitting, the backdrop of a wet city in front of us and the moment we shared at that particular place in time.

We also managed to play the tourist role too, taking him to the Shanghai Tower to experience the world's 2nd largest building. He had seen a documentary on TV about this and was so excited to visit this in person, like a kid in a candy store, being able to experience it in person with me.

I encourage all my friends and professional contacts to take advantage of the time we have on this planet with our loved ones. Good relationship or not, push for moments like these. Engage our parents while we still can. And for those who have already lost a parent, embrace the memories you already made with them. We are a product of our parents, like it or not.

I will forever associate China with my father and the incredible moments we experienced together.

TAKE YOUR FATHER TO WORK WEEK was a massive success.

“My father has always been fascinated with the line of work that I am in. I asked him to come on a trip to China with me to experience it first hand. This was simply a magical trip for the both of us.”

— George Stroumboulis