A Special Thought on Being a Father

My Personal Note: This is what I do when I'm not in the kitchen cooking, I write. After a long day at work I went into my journal and browsed through the pages. Interestingly, my last entry was on June 10, 2010 - Father's Day. And so, since it's Father's Day today I would like to take some time to share my thought on being a father. 

I dedicate this page to my two wonderful kids; Francesco and Chiara, without whom I will never have a chance to write this article. To you, Eco and Era, I am forever thankful to God for bringing you into my life.

A Special Thought on Being a Father

 

It’s been eight years since I began a journey of a life time. Of those eight years, I have been constantly grateful to God for bringing my kids into my life. I see now how I progress on my journey as a father. I see my baby steps, the mistakes, the failures but along side I see the big leaps, the triumph, the joy that has made me proud of myself and the choice that I embraced. My first year of being a dad was focused on how my  kids will survive the first three difficult years of their life, years where they are most fragile and delicate. So all I care was to provide a good shelter for them, healthy food, and making sure that they are always safe and happy. And now that we survived those years and my kids are growing faster than I thought, I am taken to the next level. My being a father to them has given a new task, a new shape, a new focus. I need to be more than a provider. I need to be a teacher, a guide, an example. I need to be a visionary, always looking beyond years, always looking forward without leaving behind the present too quickly.

It’s not easy to be a father. And in my case, it is not easy to be me – being a father. I have to fit in to two roles of being a dad and mom at the same time, not one at a time. When my kids are just a year old, I nourished them with sleepless nights when they were sick – only a father or mother can feel how it is to see your kids shivering. You have to stay awake. And when they were two and three, I protected them asleep or awake. I carried them, walked them through and always to the rescue when they were trying to walk then stumble. Although I didn’t witness their first step, I witnessed the countless steps they made and I promise them that I will be there when they make more bigger steps in the future. When they were four, I taught them many little things. I laughed with them, played with them, sing and danced with them – everything that a father can do for and with his child. The following three years after that were even more exciting. Their going to school has opened so many doors of possibilities to them. They became inventive, adventurous, smart, but they have not forgotten the values I instilled in them. Now, they are ready for more challenges. The world has opened wide its door to them. They will learn many new things in school but I should teach them all the important lessons in life that they need to learn – only their father can teach them.

I have missed a couple of things in being a father when I was not with them but it’s not stopping me to become the best dad for them now and for as long as I live. It is a vocation that has no end. I owe to my kids my joy of being a person I am right now.   They placed me for where I am and for who will I be for the rest of my life. I have read this saying that goes, “any man can be a father but only a special man can be called a dad.” That will leave me in awe of the mystery of fatherhood. When you give life, it returns to you in abundance. My kids are my greatest treasures and being their dad is my greatest happiness. It cannot be bought, it cannot be traded of, it cannot be taken away from me.

(Most part are from Soliloquy #61 / San Jose, CA / June 20, 2010 - Father’s Day) 

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