Fourfathers

When I was a child, he was my first pillar. The only man in my life. He was my tree top, my human seesaw, and my piggy back ride among other things. Today I see a man who has weathered the years, a man who has turned his backyard into his retirement playground; where he could pound every flat surface with his handy hammer while saying expletives on the side hahaha... Papa, let me begin by saying thank you for your quiet love, your generosity, your big heart, and for always being our steady front when everyone else is panicking! Thank you Papa! For me you are the best, I won't have you any other way!

To my husband...the father of my children. We love you! Thank you for your sacrifices, for the love that you unselfishly show our kids, for the gift of laughter. Thank you for always pushing our children to do their best, for being a prayerful father, and for being a good example to them. To our children you are their hero! To them you are their pillar of strength. Thank you for being very demonstrative of your love and supportive of their dreams and aspirations. And to the father of my husband, the man I never got the chance to get to know. Let me tell you how great you've raised your first born! He is the most selfless, loving, caring, responsible, and prayerful man that he is. My children (your apos) are so lucky to have your son as their father!

To my brother in law Bernard, thank you for taking care of my sister. For loving her despite her expensive bags hahaha just kidding! For simply being the kind of husband you are to her and father to my nephews and niece. For having a good heart... a heart big enough to love our family! 

To Glenn, thank you for being the source of my youngest sister's happiness! It may have taken a while before your paths were allowed to cross but it was worth all the years she had to wait before you came and swept her off her feet! Thank you for being a very good father figure to my niece Hope. You are  everything she has hoped for in a father!  Thank you too for having a heart big enough to allow them both in your life!

Happy Father's Day! We honor the four men in our lives, as we honor the Lord God, the father of all men!

Tres Padres

It's that time of year again when fathers are hailed and recognised. And rightfully so, because without them, whatever our circumstance may be, there would not be us.

To my Papa: I love you and will always do! You were the first man in our life, our first kiss, our first love. We have always placed you above all else. You were the reason why weekends were always important. Our engineer who always had something to tinker with. As a child we'd marvel at the stuff your mind and hands created. During the time when bags with wheels were introduced, you were the only father I knew who did not rush to the mall to buy one. With your creative mind my old schoolbag was magically transformed into one with wheels! That is only part of the story of the kind of father you are Papa. Even in your silence, memories were born. So thank you Papa! Your love knows no bounds... We love you ;)

To my husband: My heart of hearts! Soul of my soul! My only love... I will forever be thankful to the Lord, who answered my prayers. You are exactly the kind of father
I've always dreamed for my kids. You are a man beyond your years. You believe in the power of prayers. That with fatherhood comes great responsibility. You embraced that role. You fearlessly espoused fatherhood without a moment of hesitation. And you continue to prove how much you are committed to taking care of our family. A father in the real sense of the word! I love you and will continue loving you till my last breath.

To Bernard: My favorite brother in law the only one I have :D Even before, you have always showed your involvement in our family. An act evident of your love for my sister. The kind of man I have always prayed for her. Without you to complete the puzzle, there wouldn't be Wis, Quin, and Teapot. Thank you for always being there for each of us. Thank you for loving my sister the way you do.

To the important men in our family, I wish you all the best this Father's day and always!

Papa... the wind beneath my wings...

From across the miles Papa i send you my warmest regards... I hope you are reading this....

I would have wanted to share with you a long letter that my father wrote to me and my sisters ages ago, however, I seem to have left it in the Philippines. Before coming to Saudi Arabia, I've managed to go over all my stuff and that was when I came across Papa's letter. It brought back a lot of memories from my rebellious past but I keep thinking that I am thankful for that letter. It was everything he wanted to say but can't. I still wish my father was as talkative as I am. I know for a fact that my sisters and I got our funny bones from him but I got to keep most of the stuff that was meant for a son :-p haha yep my bemuscled legs, my forever tan, my pudgy toes huhuhu  and there's even more not worth sharing hahaha. I remember that amongst my sisters, I would be the one who would climb up the roof and help him fix our antenna. The one who would lend him a helping hand for domestic repairs. And when he is not around I would be the one my mom would call to kill a rat or a small snake. Now when I get to think about it, I can only shake my head and wonder how I've managed. But i know those skills would come in handy and am glad Papa was the one who taught me. I got my "boy skills" from my dad and my "girl skills" from my mom...the best of both worlds :) who can beat that?! 

Papa, thank you for keeping me - thank you for putting wheels on my bag so that I can stroll it around in school. Though my classmates get the expensive ones that they bought with "ready wheels", I get to keep a bag that my own father improvised for me. Thank you for putting me in school and making sure I graduated :) Thank you for teaching me how to appreciate crossword puzzles and teaching me how to drive... For siding with me at times for telling me I can start having a boyfriend at 18 and when I did, spanked me with your inverted slippers (it did not hurt a bit hahaha) and for everything else...Maraming Salamat! I love you Papa I hope you know that your little girl still exist in the mother that I am now. I am ever so grateful to have you as my Papa! Happy Father's day!

"Did you ever know that you're my hero?

You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."