iPop

No, this is not about the touch screen gadget everyone is going crazy about. This is about one special person, my Pop. Today, almost all countries celebrate Father’s Day (I say almost all because here in Australia, they celebrate it on the 3rd of September) and this is the first Father’s Day that my Papa is so many miles away from me. I thought of giving him a unique gift this day, thus, this blog entry. I am a self proclaimed Papa’s girl, though he never admitted it, I felt that I was his favourite (hehe). My Papa is more of a friend than a dad. I feel that our relationship is not the serious or formal relationship like what others have with their fathers. But he knew when to draw the line. I always treated him as a buddy but when he felt I was going overboard, he’d knew how to handle me. A lot of me was probably influenced by my dad. A lot of my traits were probably influenced by my Papa. We share the same love for books and for writing. We even have the same temper. And when we are really mad, both of us would rather be quiet. I also believe that my ability to speak well in front of a crowd was also influenced by him. He is a good speaker, both in English and Filipino. Together with my Mama, they instilled in us, their children, the value of education. Having line of 7’s in our report card was a big no-no for them, especially for Papa. They inspired us to achieve, to do well especially in our studies. The only time we’d get branded clothes or shoes was when we made it to the honors list. He also taught us early on in our lives to live within your means. There were a lot of occasions that he showed us what he meant by living within your means. Like when I was turning 18 and I wanted to have a debut party, I got mad at him and didn’t speak to him for almost a month, but he still didn’t give in. For him, it’s not right to borrow money just as so you can have a grand debut party. When we were kids he didn’t allow us to join “beauty contests” or even the Santa Cruzan for the simple reason that we didn’t have money to buy the clothes required for those occasions. By some twist of fate, whenever I got sick, like when I needed an operation for appendicitis or when I almost had a convulsion when I was 10, my Papa was just at home, and he’d be the one to bring me to the hospital. In 5th grade, when I represented my class in the Miss United Nations, no one was available to watch and give support. To make things worse, the school bus forgot to fetch me on the day of the contest! I managed to get to school in time, with no one around to watch me or assist me. To my surprise, my Papa was in school to watch me. Even if I didn’t win in the contest I felt happy because someone was there to give me moral support, and it was my Papa. I never saw him or heard him complain about the struggles we had to face, especially in terms of our finances.  Oh he’s far from being perfect, he has like everyone else, imperfections, he is human after all. I know that he still faces some struggles but I know that with God’s grace, he’d be able to overcome them. There are still a lot of occasions where my Papa showed us what being a father is all about, but it would take me ages before I can finish writing them. But all of them will never be forgotten. And so this day, is your special day Pop, I honor you for everything that you’ve done to the family. I know it was not and it is not an easy job being a father to 5 kids with different attitudes and personalities. But you’ve managed it. I just now pray that God gives you more years to live so you and Mama can continue to reap the fruits of your hard-earned labor. All I can wish now is for the entire family to be there to celebrate this special day with you. But as you know, it's not possible as of the moment. As I end this piece, let me borrow what my youngest brother used in his last article with The Guidon, “this one’s for you Papa!”