Tribute to the Greatest Father

Hay, heto na naman ako, I can’t help myself but to share the greatness of my father through this video as a tribute. Tomorrow, April 12 is my father’s death anniversary. Actually, it’s his 7^th year already since his death due to heart attack on 2005. His unexpected death was the hardest and painful thing I have ever felt. It was very heavy to accept the fact that he’s gone too soon. It was too soon for me and my siblings because all his dreams are just starting to fall into place at that time.  Overwhelming ang mga nangyayari sa amin noon. It was February when he began to build his two-storey family house - a longed dream house of our own; my eldest sister also had her first ever vacation in the Philippines since he moved to America two years ago to work as a nurse; my youngest brother had his graduation from his architecture course on March; and I had my midwifery graduation on April for my nursing course. All these events were all his ambitions for us. His dream was to witness each one of us receives our degree diploma in which he and my mother never had the chance to experience due to poverty. And now that all his wishes came into realizations, I couldn’t help but ask “What if Papa is still alive?”

look at 3:44 and 4:03 of the video; he is wiping his tears during my youngest brother's graduation
ceremony on 2005. A dream came true to see us all with degree.

Random Memories

When my siblings and I were just in high school, our ‘ulam’ is usually meat dish either of pork or chicken and he seldom brings home fish. As a student who brings packed lunch in the school, I was happy with that considering my classmates were typically comparing our foodstuff during breaks.  As a result, I usually preferred meat dish for lunch. Until he said to us that we should be thankful if we found fish in our table because he had the money to buy, otherwise ‘inutang nya lang yung karne (meat) sa kanyang kumpareng nagtitinda sa market.’

Way back long years ago, my eldest sister was in grade six. My second sister and I were in grade two and grade one respectively. When the school year ended, my eldest sis finished salutatorian, my second sis got high grades and I got the lowest. I remember my father saying to my mother, “Anong gagawin natin sa batang ito, lahat patok ang grades! (What should we do to this kid, his grades were all axe!)” I know what he meant at that time because my mean grade was 77. These words motivated me to put extra effort to do better in class. The following school years, I received honors in the elementary and maintained to be in section one in high school.

I remembered the years when we still rent a house, my sisters and I awfully hate the rain. Because after few minutes of heavy rain fall, all of us were starting to get busy including Papa in lifting up the stuffs inside the house because an unwanted visitor will comes in – the flood from the drainage.

Way back 2003; Papa encouraged me to follow the footsteps of my eldest sister and enroll a course in nursing. At first I never bought that kind of idea since my best friend and I just graduated a year ago from computer science degree. To convince me more, he said the idea came from my best friend’s father because he is also encouraging his son to take up nursing (my best friend’s father and my father were used to be kumpare). In short, I took up and passed the qualifying exam for nursing only to find out that my best friend refused his father’s idea.

Back in early 1990s; Papa entered politics and run for barangay kagawad (councilor) in our place. Fortunately he won one of the seven seats. His fellow kagawad whenever they went to our house sometimes they called him Kap. I wonder why they called him such because Kap is usually termed to barangay Kapitan (chairman). I find it humorous because what they actually mean by Kap is – a short for Kapuret (bicol term for being the last in kagawad seat).

My Papa loved watching movies and current news such TV Patrol or Saksi. So that he would not be disturbed, he put the remote control of the TV beside him. However in the middle of his watching, he usually fell asleep and starts snoring. So what we did was we either turned it off or transfer the TV to our preferred channel. But as soon as we made that, he instantly awakens. Sabay sabi, “bakit nyo nilipat? O kaya, Bakit nyo pinatay?”

My mother is my Papa’s one true love. They get married on 1973. But when my mother passed away on 1991 at age 47, I know he was very sad and felt so alone at that time. I was also aware that some of his comrades are encouraging him to look for another partner in life but Papa never cared at all. He didn’t want to replace his love to my mother. His all time favorite songs express his unconditional love to my mother. (You can hear few of these songs in the video I have posted here). Several days before his death and few days after my youngest brother and I had our graduation ceremony, my Papa’s co-workers told us during his wake that Papa visited my mother’s grave and he said “mission accomplished.”

Papa was an excellent cook. He loved to cook different dishes and it’s very scrumptious. Sometimes, he gets upset if I we were not looking at or trying to learn his way of cooking. If he was out, I was automatically in charge of the kitchen. That’s how I learn cooking.

Papa also loves kids. Every time he visits his younger brother (my uncle) in Manila, he never failed to bring some present to my cousin’s baby child. And so he did the same to my two cousins (in my mother’s part) who had one kid each. If he had extra money, he bought some things such as diapers or clothes for them. He even cuddles them. It’s quite regretting his time fell short and he never had the chance to hug his own granddaughter and grandsons.

Every time the calendar hits April 12; all the memories about my father comes back to mind instantly. Papa gave us so many memories of his life. Be it as good or bad memories. I am so thankful for the countless moments he shared with us. It’s so many too look back. Though the pain of losing him untimely is still hard to accept, but I know I already moved on. Reminiscing about my father’s memory is somehow a tribute I could express how I missed my father at this moment of time. He left a legacy to our lives. And most of all, he is worth remembering.