It was my father's birthday on May 23rd. I called him to wish him happy birthday and the phone call left me with a feeling of wanting to be near him, to celebrate his life. A life which weaved a safety net for his children, for me , for as long as I remember. I've always appreciated in my heart what my parents have done for me but the depth of feelings have a new meaning ever since I became a mother myself. My husband once read somewhere and I don't remember the exact words but it meant that we can never repay our parents in this life , the only way we do it by paying it forward when we become parents ourselves.
Today I just want to say thanks to my father . Its hard to really say that to him on face so I am hoping that writing here can convey to him what he means to me. Among all the other things, one is for teaching me lessons even when he wasn't really preaching and for simply being there for me. I never told him how much I admire his confidence in facing life and its odds. For me if anyone is a living example of 'when the going gets tough , the tough get going', its my Dad. I am yet to see anyone who has taken the challenges of life in its stride. I can never forget when I was around 7 or 8 and that summer the fire swallowed our entire factory leaving it in ashes. We had no insurance for that factory so basically all was lost. No phone available at that time, the bad news came to us thru' someone in the afternoon and I remember my upset mother telling us that we should be quiet and not disturb him when my father got back home. He came late in the night, his face tired and his clothes covered in soot. None of us were sleeping. We lined together,sad and afraid looking, may be even teary eyed. And I clearly remember that his face softened after seeing us. Without even washing up he huddled us and said that 'everything is going to be okay, I am here'. Those words and that tone of his voice have been my strength in a way that he would never know. I try and be that strong parent on whom my kids can depend and lean on and I thank my father for that. Even now, his confidence blows me over. In my last trip to India I was a nervous mother , fretting over 15 months old Avi who was so used to me being around all the times and it made other people doubt themselves if they could care for Avi as best as I could. My Mama & Mami (my mother's brother and his wife) wanted to take us out for dinner and I was not sure if Avi would be up for a late dinner. My father said he would stay back and put him to bed. I thought that was a bad idea because Avi would never go to bed without me. He just put his arms around me and said 'I will take care of him'. It was the same assuring tone . So my husband and I went out to dinner without Avi (for the first time since he was born. I kept waiting for the phone to ring, summoning me back to home but the phone never rang and when we came back home, I witnessed the most lovely sight - my father and Avi sleeping, their heads touching together. I knew the flash of the camera would wake him but I still took the picture. I have a lot of stories like this and I will be writing again. Today I just want to say to him," I love you and I miss you Papa".
Today I just want to say thanks to my father . Its hard to really say that to him on face so I am hoping that writing here can convey to him what he means to me. Among all the other things, one is for teaching me lessons even when he wasn't really preaching and for simply being there for me. I never told him how much I admire his confidence in facing life and its odds. For me if anyone is a living example of 'when the going gets tough , the tough get going', its my Dad. I am yet to see anyone who has taken the challenges of life in its stride. I can never forget when I was around 7 or 8 and that summer the fire swallowed our entire factory leaving it in ashes. We had no insurance for that factory so basically all was lost. No phone available at that time, the bad news came to us thru' someone in the afternoon and I remember my upset mother telling us that we should be quiet and not disturb him when my father got back home. He came late in the night, his face tired and his clothes covered in soot. None of us were sleeping. We lined together,sad and afraid looking, may be even teary eyed. And I clearly remember that his face softened after seeing us. Without even washing up he huddled us and said that 'everything is going to be okay, I am here'. Those words and that tone of his voice have been my strength in a way that he would never know. I try and be that strong parent on whom my kids can depend and lean on and I thank my father for that. Even now, his confidence blows me over. In my last trip to India I was a nervous mother , fretting over 15 months old Avi who was so used to me being around all the times and it made other people doubt themselves if they could care for Avi as best as I could. My Mama & Mami (my mother's brother and his wife) wanted to take us out for dinner and I was not sure if Avi would be up for a late dinner. My father said he would stay back and put him to bed. I thought that was a bad idea because Avi would never go to bed without me. He just put his arms around me and said 'I will take care of him'. It was the same assuring tone . So my husband and I went out to dinner without Avi (for the first time since he was born. I kept waiting for the phone to ring, summoning me back to home but the phone never rang and when we came back home, I witnessed the most lovely sight - my father and Avi sleeping, their heads touching together. I knew the flash of the camera would wake him but I still took the picture. I have a lot of stories like this and I will be writing again. Today I just want to say to him," I love you and I miss you Papa".
1 comment:
indeed..one of the best :)
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