Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I wonder what's a father good for? He starts out hunting for a wife as a sort of hippie-like protocol. He hasn't the faintest clue what to do with her when he gets her. Sometimes, it takes more than one try to reel in the catch. Then, comes the courtship, which sometimes feels like he's courting a truckload of mixed emotions of should-I and should-I-not. Caught in a body full of wild raging hormones he can hardly control, he only has one thing in his mind when he is with her. Yet, he has to take cold showers to drown the over-excited passions because he has been forewarned that true love waits. So he waits and waits. When the time is ripe, he cheekily pops the question without much thought and she says yes. Lucky pimply break.

When the aisle march comes, he is at his best, all suit up and ready to plant that first public kiss. But again, he hasn't the faintest clue what he's getting himself into. The honeymoon is predictable because it packs a lifetime of surrealistic romances in one weekend, leaving little for the marital life ahead. Then, the day arrives. The “clear blue” is anything but clear. Yet the blues is crystal clear. All he can think about is that momentary pleasure one nocturnal night ago and the same is now transmuted into a lifetime of endless responsibility and worries. Mmm...how deceptively charming a quick discharge could turn out to be eh?

Again, he hasn't the faintest clue of what his offspring will be and what they will do to him. Yet he pretends he is all geared up and excited. He may be the captain of his ship in demeanor but when it comes to his life, he's merely a deckhand furiously arranging the deck chairs in the hull. He's like the blind leading the blind. 9 months separates him from decades of screaming, wailing, yelling, demanding, running wild and crying for attention. Without mammary, he is completely useless when it comes to feeding his offspring. Most of the time, he just stands by one side and watches helplessly as his baby suckles feverishly; ignoring him completely.

Then, at that defining moment, it finally hits him like a ton of soiled diapers and used wet-wipes. He is a FATHER! His minuscule insemination has come to monstrous fruition. He is no longer just somebody's child. He has his very own. His own flesh and blood. The product of his modest loin. He sees himself in his newborn. He is a vital part of the life of another. His sweet labor of love has turned into a safe harbor of life.

And yet, it is an extension of him, everything about him, his hopes, dreams and faith in life. Everything he desires and longs for is reduced into a tiny growing organic package waiting for his special and exclusive touch, hugs, love, care and nurture. Far from being clueless, he now realizes that a father's greatest responsibility is also his greatest joy. He now sees how he has not only played a significant part in the child's coming into being but also the child's coming of age and maturity.

The father's hand is like no other hand. His hugs transcend time and space. His smile and encouragement move the child's soul from deep within. His mere presence is enough to launch the child's heart into uncharted emotional oceans of life. He is a father for a reason and no other. It is a reason to give life to another. And in this selfless act of giving, his life is in turn blessed beyond measure. Between a father and his beloved child, this intimate bond is mutually nourishing, enriching and reinforcing. It is a love that paves the way and then goes all the way. It is a love for life.

Happy Father's day (...you totally clueless man of untold riches and life-transforming purpose). Cheerz.