Dearest Dad

Today is a special day. It is Father's day. A day where we express our love, gratitude and appreciation to the most important man of our lives, our Father, our Daddy, Dad.. There will be celebrations, with  dinner and activities to keep our Dad happy. While I do enjoy making Dad happy on this day, at times I felt that Father's Day and even Mother's Day, are creative "ideas", developed by "shrew" businessmen, to increase sales or revenue! (Ok, you might not agree..) Expression of love, gratitude and apprecation for Dad and Mum, should be for each and every moment that we are with them, not limiting to this day. Spending time with them regularly, listening to them, genuinely loving and caring for them, most importantly keeping them informed of what I am doing and including them in my plans, are integral parts of expressing my love for them..

Being a father or a daddy is tough work. Traditionally kids are closer to Mum, who usually takes the nuturing role in the family. Dad is generally the bread winner, the authority in the family, who keeps discipline, and protects the family. He has to be strong, capable and competent, "fearless" and courageous, solid as a "rock" and "solve all techinical issues" man in the house, who can practically fix anything..! There..! Mission impossible? Keke, at least that was the impression that I have of my Dad when I was young. A strict, capable and very fierce man, who has extremely high expectations of me, his elder daugther. I respected him and feared him then, prefering to stay away in case I made him angry. Those times were behind us, I am happy that we are very close now. It could be that he has mellowed down with age, though I prefer to think that I am the daughter that he is proud of.. Hee. He dote on both my sister and me. Thank you Dad..

The role of Dad has changes with time. Though we can still see "traditionally" dad in some families, the role of Dad has evolved. Many of them are "hands-on" Dads, who play active role in bringing up, educating and caring for their kids. They feed, carry and change diapers for their babies, rushed home to play with the kdis after work, teach them their homework and ferry them around to where ever the kids want, etc..  Dads nowadays  demostrate love, patience, and care, a softer side of them, not only to the kids and also to their wife. It is a very important role and challenging one too, to balance both work and family needs. Being just a breadwinner no longer suffices. Along with it involves taking an active role in bringing up the kids and also supporting and loving the wife. A quote: "The best gift that a Dad can give his child is to love the Mum".

For being the above, to all Dads:

Happy Father's Day... thank you for being the torch of our lives, showing us the way. Protecting and sheltering us when we were young from the rain and storm..

A special note to a few Dads that I knew:

To Chris, Bryan, Sasi and Conway, enjoy this day and every waking moment you have with your kid(s). Before you know it, they will be grown-ups!! Hee.