on my way home, i held on tight to my dad's framed grad pic, a gift i promised to give him to match the one i gave mom during her recent birthday. i stared at the photo, seeing so much of me in him. the man that i love and abhor at the same time is exactly my carbon copy. he was so young in the pic but last april 25, he had just turned 51. 21 of those years spent playing the role of a father.
People used to say that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do. Well, my dad and I could be living testimonies to that statement. I could say that we had some of the greatest fights ever known. ( hehe, exaggerated, i know!) . We would quarrel over almost everything - family matters, education, religion, personal beliefs, politics, priorities in life, economics, including petty things such as TV channels, the time he would pick me up, basketball games, on how i have always been late, on how he has always been a nagger. But of course, when i say fight, it's not the almost boxing matches scene. hey, he is still my father! these are more of overly-exaggerated tampuhan.
but like any sweethearts coming from a fight, the sweetest moments between me and my dad is the suyuan stage. when all tempers have hyped down, and one would feel sorry for hurting the other, we will make up for what we did. i would bring him cake as a peace offering or he would invite me to a father-daughter date in a videoke session ( actually, a videoke challenge). there are times that forgiving wouldn't be so easy. and so the pakipot stage would come into the picture. when it was him who is making the "suyo", i usually make it difficult for him, not speaking with him for almost 3 days which will make him nuts. ain't that cute? haha..
of course, we don't just do fights all our lives. we have a lot of sweet moments as well that i truly treasure. i usually like it when my dad is super sweet, texting me just to check exactly where i'm at, asking if i have already taken lunch, or when he would force me to sleep when he thinks i need one.Or whenever he would assure me that he will pin down the guy who would break my heart. it brings complete joy to me whenever i see that little boy in my dad and when he could never wipe away that boyish smile in his face when i call him "gwapo". In those nights when we don't feel like watching TV, we usually talk underneath the stars to just make plans for our family. Planning the future with dad is a reassurance for me coz when he is there, evrything else seems to be just alright. My favorite will be cuddling with my dad. I love hugging him. Brings a lot of comfort to me.
well, you see, my dad is not the perfect father in the world. He had caused me a lot of headaches and heartaches in the past. i have hated him a lot times already. but you see, i'm not a perfect daughter as well, i know i have hurt him as much too, caused him troubles, gave him disappointments. we are not perfect daughter and father but i sure know we are a perfect pair. hey, no one else will be able to handle my dad the way i do! i love him for the same reasons that i hate him.. confusing? well, whatever! it just works for us. and i just love it the way it is..
