For the most
part of my growing up years, images of you coming home with your luggages and
going away with the same have been my vivid recollection of you.
You had to
work abroad. For the family.
It came with a
lot of sacrifices… like missing special occasions in my life…
… my 1st
, 7th, 18th birthdays and most of my birthdays in between
and after…
… my
kindergarten, elementary, high school graduations, in all I gave a speech you
didn’t hear… and finally my college graduation…
Special
occasions in a young girl’s life when she needed to have her father by her
side… but you were not there…
And I knew it
broke your heart as much as it did mine…
Though you
missed those special occasions… I knew you tried your best to make up for lost
time… my best memories were the mundane moments… things little girls my age
then would have dismissed easily…
… the times
when you were teaching me and my sisters how to ride the bicycle and we would
go to the nearby park so we could just ride the bike for hours on a lazy
weekend afternoon… You’d let us eat all
the streetfood we wanted and would just wait for us to get tired of biking and
playing on the swing until we begged you for us to walk back home… We’d do that
week after week, and you would always
oblige to go with us, even if you could have stayed to watch your favorite TV
show…
… when you
taught me how to wash the dishes… your way. And I was so bent on making you
proud of me, I actually volunteered to wash the dishes almost every after meal
since then, and would show you how I did it… and my reward would be your approving
nod and smile…
… the times
when I would just sit with you in the room as you watched sports on TV -- basketball, tennis, billiards -- and I would sit there, watching observingly,
pretending I was enjoying the show, and asking about the rules of the game
every now and then, my feeble attempts to start a conversation with you. And I
was happy that you would willingly explain to me the rules. I never really
understood them. To be honest, I couldn’t care less. I just wanted those times
with you.
Now, as a
grown-up, I am learning to be thankful for the little things God allows us to
share together…
… our table
talks… especially those moments when we unexpectedly bare our hearts to one
another… I cherished those rare occasions when you would give me fatherly
advice on life and love… You don’t know how much I cling on to every word you
say…
… the meals
you cooked for me and my sisters, every time we find time to go home to our
farmhouse in Quezon. You’re just glowing with joy when you do that, always, as
if we’re still your little girls.
Most
importantly, I am thankful that it’s not too late for you to be the dad I never
had when I was growing up. We still have the rest of our lives to make new
memories…
I love you Daddy. Happy Father’s Day!
P.S.
Please be
there on my wedding day… ;p And I pray you live to see your grandchildren. :)
3 comments:
tear-jerker, you! :'>
Teary-eyed here also.. I hate you, Ate Aimee. :( <3 In a good way haha!
Love you both Effie and Bettie! <3
Post a Comment