We made it. My daughter and I (and son and loved ones) made it to the summit of Mt Batur, Bali, this early morning to catch the first light of day. And it was intimately beautiful.
There’s a background to why I made the trip actually, And it is in the post below.
Long story short, it is a part-penance, part-bonding cum sunrise-trekking with my daughter.
The penance part is because I put my foot in my mouth (post below). And the bonding part comes in the journey starting at 12:30 am (this morning) to 10:30 am where together, father and daughter, by mutual encouragement, we walk each other up to the top.
Lesson? Well, in the trials of fatherhood, you often put your foot in your mouth, and say the wrong things, hurt their feelings and make them shed silent tears.
But in the reward of fatherhood, I have learned to never stop at those foot-in-the-mouth moments. Instead, I put my words into action and walk the talk with her. That is why I took the journey this morning.
I am reminded that there will be lots of such journey, mountain climbing (and overcoming) kind, where I’d have to hold her hands and walk with her.
Such journey always starts at the lowest point, that is, the valleys of my slips and blunders. But as we take the time to make every step counts towards the summit, we will renew our hope, joy and love again.
This makes me reflect about the reasons for the valleys in our life. For every valley is no less an opportunity for us fathers to either deepen the bond or to let it be.
However, the former is what makes fatherhood so endearing and empowering. It also makes every valley a reason to grow with our loved ones when we take the time to journey with them to the end, or in this case, to the top.
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