What Does Having A Father Mean?

I remember when I was 13, I won the 3rd prize in the school essay writing competition about my Mother. Come to think about it, many tributes have always been given to mothers. Have you ever wondered why? Even songs are usually focused on mums like "In this world, only Mum is good".

Dont get me wrong. I have nothing against tributes to Mums. They are the ones who have to go through XXX degree of pain just to bring us into this world after carrying us around for 10 months, then they spend the rest of their lives worrying about our lives. Based on that fact alone, we should all love our Mums with all our hearts.

Mother and child relationship is special and the bond is not something that we would have with another person ever. I love my Mum but there are times when I don't even want to see her. I can scream at Mum at the slightest annoyance, but if anyone ever say one bad thing about my Mum, I will tear them apart. I don't have the lovey dovey relationship with Mum but deep down inside is our ultimate love and trust for each other. Love does conquer all (any hurt, any pain, any sadness). Ehmm.. I am supposed to be talking about Dad.

For those of you who only have daughters, don't fret. Dad and daughter relationships are special in their own way. As the first man to pick your little gal up, she will always look to you as a role model. How many of you out there find that your husband is in some way similar to your dad?

For me, I tend to think that I am very close to my father. Maybe because we are in the same field of work. But somehow Dad seems to know me well. Mum says I can twist my dad around my fingers but I tend to think that I will do whatever for him, with or without him asking. Example: Why else do you think I did engineering? I would like to think that I am fulfilling his dream for him, achieving something that he never ha the opportunity to.

Having a father to most people is like having a mountain behind them, especially where finances are concerned. Many people never think of how lucky they are just because their fathers are around. For me, I thank God that I have my dad still, especially after his health scare in 2000. In engineering terms, my dad is my whole foundation of love, pillars of strength and my walls of protection, wisdom and advice.

To say that my father loves us is an understatement. I never doubt for a single moment that he will even give his life for us. Dad as a young man and just married, used to ride a motorbike . And what made him change his bike for a little car was when his first born and only daughter was born (that's me!). Mum used to tell us the story of how he refused to let his baby be driven around on a bike. What if it rains, what if it is too hot?

Only he would know how much money was spent on our education, and those credit card bills I had piled up for him because Melbourne was so 'cold' that I needed the latest fashionable winter clothing, every winter & non-winter seasons. Only he would know how many times I have called home crying because I was afraid of failing my exams the next day.

Before I started dating Greg, I actually showed Dad a photo of him, and poor Greg would probably not even get a date if Dad had not given his one of his neither-here-nor-there smile and said,"At least he doesn't look like a bad guy".

He is a pretty strict dad but we all know that he is softie. I remember when I got diarrhae a number of years back during one of the uni holidays and had to be hospitalised. I was in a lot pain but it really hurt more when I saw Dad started to panic and his tears dropped. It hit me like never before the love he had for the three of us.

I actually felt thankful to God that I still have a Dad. And I will not stop telling myself that I am very blessed because he is still around. By having a wonderful father, I am lucky enough to have a good example to follow, someone who could teach me about integrity, honesty and diligence. It means confidence in handling anything bad in life because he has shown it by example that there is no problem which cannot be solved, no bad luck that stays forever, and no bad things that will not pass.

Having a father means I have someone whom I can run to whether I am happy or sad. Having a father means that I can embrace life and be daring to try because I have the mountain behind my back. It means there is someone there who loves you as much as humanly possible and therefore, the world cannot be such a lousy place after all.

As he celebrate his 63 years of life, we wish him a very very long and happy life and many many more blessings to come!