Fathers Day.
In a society where men are expected to be providers and spearhead innovative sectors, it really does break my heart to see that fathers get celebrated just once in a year. I don’t understand how society works sometimes, to be honest. Society expects soo much from men and yet, these same men are not given enough accolades. When I’m talking about men, I mean men who do not see women’s achievements as threats, men who are looking for the best opportunities for their daughters and sons and also men who are ever ready to stand in the face of injustice at any point in time. Yes, these men.
As someone who grew up in family of 4 girls and no boy, I’ve had a first hand experience of how non-receptive some people are towards the idea of only girl children in a family. How some ask absurd questions such as "so you don’t have a brother?" Or "how is your dad coping?" Yes, I’ve heard the most insane questions over the years and it just makes me wonder if society is really moving forward or we are still far back in the period of our forefathers. But, my dad never made the fact that he had all girls an issue.
My dad would always tell us how proud he is of us and how hardworking we are. The way he beams with joy at any of our achievements no matter how small makes us all want to do more.
When I started writing back in 2021, my first ever write-up on medium got over a hundred reads. How come, you may ask? Well, my dad apparently sent the link to all his friends and he said to me in a boastful manner " I sent it to all my friends". The first ever essay competition I entered into my dad edited my writing for me. He showed me how the use of punctuation marks was essential for a writer like myself. After I submitted this essay, I spoke to my elder sister about how helpful my dad was and she told me that my dad already called her to inform her of how good of a writer I was. Till this date, my dad still reads my blogs and listens to my podcast.
Every single time I was given a prize on prize and speech giving day, my dad would always congratulate me when I came home and he would commend my effort and sometimes, he would give me money.
During lock-down, my dad became a certified Arbitrator. I honestly was in awe! I mean my dad is an engineer and he has never done any law related courses yet, he aced his exams and got his certificate.
Today, the 18th of June is Fathers day, I would like to use this medium to appreciate my dad for how loving and caring he is and always will be. How he always set the pace for success alongside my mother so my siblings and I could follow suit. How he and my mum worked soo hard so my siblings and I could live comfortably. I want to say a huge thank you dad, I really am grateful.