Daddy Dearest

His warm, enormous callused hand;

Smooth splendid castles made of sand.

His stories charm his girls to glee.

All wrapped in magical mystery.

He sweats all day to make them smile.

For them he treks that extra mile.

To fathers no sweet odes are sung.

No mere mention on hoardings strung.

What wouldn’t I do for his love so fine.

In mercy steeped his heart does shine.

My dad, my knight in hallowed grace.

In our lives he has the most special place.

 

I am really close to my family and feel blessed to have their overwhelming love in my life, at the same time I am painfully aware of how it’s something that we all do take for granted at times. There is a lot of selfless love and dedication that goes into work in our relationships and I don’t think any words of gratitude would ever do any justice to the kind of support and affection we get from them.

Our family bonds and how much they count on our emotional scale depends a lot on our lifelong interactions within the family circle and how circumstances have shaped our opinions about them. Fortunately for me they are the most endearing relationships, perhaps for some others, they might be a tad distasteful. I wish that wasn’t the case but sadly we do not dwell in a perfect world.

My father has been my ideal superdad, my superhero, Mr. Fix-it-all and best buddy, all rolled in one sweet concoction. That is one of the reasons why I feel that fathers don’t actually get enough appreciation for their contribution in our lives. It is always moms who take the cake and a delightfully huge chunk of it. Not that they don’t deserve that kind of kudos, but I feel sometimes we undermine the quintessential and most appealing father quotient in the family.

We traditionally look at them as essential breadwinners and disciplinarians but not caregivers. That tag is allocated to moms who seems naturally more appropriate to the role. But my dad doesn’t fit into the stereotypical mold; he’s a breadwinner who aces on the caregiver status. There’s absolutely nothing that he hasn’t done for his family. In fact all the men in my family circle make me feel it’s unfair to undervalue these fantastic dads. My dad, my husband, my brother-in-law and many others around me prove just that to me.

Daddy always made all my childhood Sundays special with his delicious breakfast treats. Oh yes, he loves to cook and is a true masterchef in the kitchen and does it with so much passion and oodles of affection that it’s wonderful to work as his sous chef. He shows how to handle things competently instead of ordering around. Even when I started working I always woke up to a perfectly laid out breakfast plate, a steaming cup of tea and my clothes neatly pressed too.

He is the kind of dad who always got totally excited about all my school projects and later even my work assignments. If I stayed up late nights working on something he’d stay up to help too. When me or my sister visit our parents, daddy still helps us with the kids and often loses sleep trying to soothe my collicky baby back to bed.

These are actually just a few things that I mention here; an inch from seamless miles of ceaseless love and care. Most fathers give loads of selfless attention to their families but we don’t give them much credit for it. All those overtimes, extra jobs on top of the already stressful full-time jobs and then the perfectly honest indulgence in their family life; there is a lot that we tend to overlook about their role in our life.

I wish we could all reflect on how blessed we are to have their sturdy hands to hold on to. I wish we could show our appreciation to our parents more often and not just on birthdays and father’s day.

I penned this poem for my dad. It’s not the perfect gift but he sure made it seem precious. Love you daddy!