My Daddy
I've always wanted to write about the most important man in my life, & what better time to do so than during Fathers’ Day. My daddy is my hero in so many aspects, where should I start…
Ever since daddy retired, he’s so happy-go-lucky, so much to the extent that I can’t wait for the day I retire as well. :P Daddy looks younger than he actually is because he’s always smiling & joking. Many people are curious about what he does in his “free time”… Well, I start off by telling them that he hardly has any! His weeks are so filled with meaningful activities that he’s even busier than the average working adult. He plays badminton 3 times a week (my sporting hero~), goes for bible study & brings food for them every Wednesday, he has many groups of friends to hang out with at gatherings, & his full-time job is being a Great Daddy who dotes on his precious little girls. It inspires me to see him so joyful & passionate about the things he does- in my opinion, a justly & timely reward for all the hard work he has done thus far.
A colleague gasped in horror when I told her I’ve never dialed a cab in my life- because I don’t take cabs often, & when I do, I hail them. I realized, though, that the reason for this is because I hail the DaddyCab most often. Daddy likes to ferry me around, both to & from places… Even from the nearby bus stop-although I must say that when I walk up the long slope it seems never-ending & not the least bit nearby. He has been sending me to school at 7+ in the morning, without fail, every day for the past many years. Even after I graduated from JC, he sends me to class at NUS- albeit at a less ungodly time compared to 7AM, but still nonetheless very much appreciated. He is my Speedy Gonzales that gets me to school in the nick of time (because I am lazy, don’t like to wake up a few minutes earlier to save the rush). I don’t have my own car (daddy says I have to earn my own vehicle.. Hmph), I try to do my part by fetching him from the bus stop when he takes public transport.
Daddy is very tech-savvy; from a long while back he learnt to SMS, email, & now it has progressed to Facebook. I don’t know anyone who is as proud as I am to have their daddy as their friend on Facebook, really. He spends time on the computer typing his own songbooks (complete with melody, chords & lyrics), contentedly ticking them off his organized checklist when he has completed a page. He prints it out in his usual systematic way; mummy never understands why he spends so much time on this. But when I see the joy on other people’s faces as they happily thumb through his creation, laughing joyfully as they place their song dedications… It is then that I realize why he likes to bless people with what God has blessed him with- because it is in every sense of the word meaningful, & he likes to see people happy as much as he likes to be happy.
Daddy is short- but that makes him cute, & balding- even cuter lah!, but he is the most handsome daddy in the world. His teeth are not straight but his smile is the widest. What makes him the most handsome is the love that he has shown to me all this while, for 20 years of my life & counting. He is affectionate & sensitive- so very unlike the typical father. He is a filial son who evidently loves grandpa very much, visiting him at least once a week to chit chat or eat lunch, amongst other meaningful things. He is a loving husband who is a heartfelt romantic to my mother, & although she brushes off his gestures in her typical pragmatic fashion (talk about role-reversal in a couple, really…), I can see the joy in her eyes when he sings her favourite songs, Tennessee Waltz or 榕树下. She will turn mushy & tell everyone, “he had to sing this song in order to marry me o-kay!!”. He is a dedicated father to my younger sister, taking time off every single day to tutor her for her O level exams. Through this, he has learnt patience & understanding- yet another to add to his list of endearing qualities. It seems like something easy that a parent can see he can do, but few actually bother to put it into practice.
Which brings me to another point, my daddy is incredibly smart. He was educated in Chinese schools until he graduated from TCHS, then switched to an English-based school, RI. But he did well, & this upbringing of his made him effectively bilingual. (Unfortunately, not much can be said of myself; I wish things like these could be inherited in the genes)
Daddy isn’t like the typical Singaporean parent who forces their kid to do a degree on Law or Medicine, just because lawyers & doctors earn a lot of money, or because they want to earn bragging rights to haolian to their friends. My daddy is proud of me in whatever I do, & supports me all the way! I suspect this lack of parental stress is a key factor to my academic success thus far. I’m going to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 3 years’ time, just like he did. It would be as much cool as my choice was coincidental to follow in his footsteps & be just like him (although with more hair please).
& what about the things that he has done for me? They are countless, & too many to name. He cheers me up with his silly & Characteristically Daddy SMSes every day. He once put a pillow under my head & patted my hair when I was sad & crying on the floor one day. He brings me out for kueh chap breakfast because it is such a rare opportunity, as I “only wake up in time for breakfast once a year”. He is my mobile GPS; if I’m lost I can call him & he can direct me to my destination- without even checking the map, because everything is in his head to begin with. He plays music with me, either the piano or guitar- it’s one of our many bonding activities. We go rollerblading together. He understands my grumpiness when it’s that time of the month & knows when to stay clear when I’m filled with gunpowder or dynamite.
Of course, everyone has their shortcomings, his being that he can be hot-tempered & stubborn at times. (I myself am very much like him in these ways, so we try not to argue with each other too much) But after all, he is my daddy & for all the good things that he has brought for all of us, I would not trade him for any other daddy in the world. The values that he has brought me up with- thrifty, humble, hardworking-are values that I will keep with me for life, & that I would like to bring my children up with if I do have any in the future. My life has become busier as the years go by. I don’t spend as much time at home or with daddy as I would like to anymore. But I want my daddy to know that I appreciate everything he has done for me thus far, & that this is my way of showing that I love him very much.
