First of all, I would like to greet all the long time dads, new dads, and soon-to-be dads in the world a HAPPY FATHER’S DAY.
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| Image taken from weheartit.com |
Few days ago when NBA and the Lunar Eclipse were the trending topics on the twitter timeline, I caught site of a twitter hashtag hanging at the bottom of the top 10 trending topics that goes, #thatsmydad. I could only remember one thing about my dad that would suit the hashtag pretty well and I tweeted, “someone who plays guitar and sings me ballad #thatsmydad”.
I don’t exactly know how other families would usually have a good time on father’s day. I for real grew up in a family where celebrating such occasions is so unlikely, at odds to what I typically hear from others where preparations are really done for their father say, a special dinner.
“I love you” is a not so familiar line inside the home. After my mother remained a plain housewife for few years, suddenly had to start a job in the city government. And my father, focused most of his time and attention on politics when he started serving as a Barangay Chairman in 1995. My brother was 9 years old then while I was 5.
Apparently, politics became part of our daily life since then. It wasn’t until I also turned 9 that I mustered the courage to write him a letter for the father’s day (thanks to the 90’s educational TV series for reminding me of such a good conduct) because I thought it’s only on those kinds of occasion that I get the chance to thank him for all he’s done and to let him know that I love him.
There were times when I would only see my letters for him run into the trash bin few days after. Though I’ve realized my father surely didn’t intend to throw my billet-doux. I remember my aunt even said, “Don’t be discouraged, you know your parents aren’t really fond of emotions popping off letters”.
We all in the family hardly recognize feelings and thank each other. Endearments are taboo in that trying to open up something like it makes for a very awkward conversation. Though I know the Filipino culture where families are really valued (well I still hope despite of all the issues the country is facing now), father’s day is supposed to be a day when everybody, most importantly children have to give honor to their father and make him feel like he’s the greatest, the best and the most special dad there is.
As children grow up, perspectives change and greeting dads on father’s day grow to be less and less of a priority. All the greetings if not forgotten just become perfunctory. Some start to move and have families of their own while others get too busy with their individual jobs. I don’t know how fathers really react to this. It is probably one of the hardest things a father or a parent for that matter could ever learn to do and accept as being parents, the stage of emancipation where one has to understand that his children are never his own .
