Happy Father’s Day…

The first one in family to hold a child in his arms. The first one to celebrate the birth of a new member. The first one to talk to the child, holding it dearly in his arms. The first one to look into the baby’s face, and feel it bringing a smile into his own. The first one to promise his child that he would be there, no matter what. A father is the first one to look at a child and silently say, ‘No matter the odds, I will stick by your side and watch you reach your goal’.

A father’s effort is usually lost to the public. One doesn’t truly appreciate the hours that a man puts in his work, so that his child can enjoy the fruits of his labour. A father remains awake half the night, tutoring his child, so that his son/daughter would be highly successful in the future. He is the one, who spends the days working, and the evenings taking his kids out. A father is the one who sacrifices all his entertainment just to satisfy the silly whims of an immature kid.

Called by a hundred different nicknames, but with the same emotions, and feelings of safety. The arms, protecting his child like a fortress, the eyes filled with warmth and fire at the same time, the touch reassuring the kid that’s all’s safe. For a child, their father is the world, and for a dad, his child is the most precious gift that the world has to offer.

Transforming into a four-legged creature, transporting his kid from one realm(read:room) to another, all the while making unearthly noises, just to be assured that his kid would keep on sporting the smile that’s so dear to him. Making his kids stand on his shoulder so that they can have the best view in a parade. Holding a child in his arms, walking for miles so that his child can sleep peacefully on the way.

A father’s journey never ends, not even in his death-bed. While the son/daughter is still a child, he takes his/her hand and makes him/her walk beside him. When the child becomes a teen, he offers advices and lets the child put its footsteps outside the safe region, to explore the realm outside. When the child becomes an adult, a father’s role usually seems to loose its importance, as the child takes its own decisions, ignoring the father’s counsel, often citing Generation Gap. When the child gets his/her own family, he/she starts to silently explore the thorns that parents have to overcome while raising their kid. When the father reaches the end of his life, the only thing that he cares about is the child that he so painfully, and smilingly, raised to just look at him and and hear him/her say “I love You, Dad…”.

A father doesn’t hold your hand, while you walk in the journey of life. He lets you take your own steps, walking right behind you, so that when you trip, he’s there to catch you before you fall. He doesn’t force you to walk on his footsteps, or nag you into walking the path he chose for you. He lets you pursue your own dreams, lets you fly in the wings of your creation, all the while waiting to guide and advise you in your journey. Father is the first mentor, the first teacher, and the first idol.