Filipino is known to be family-oriented. With the care and love of one's mother and the strength and joy that a father shares, a family's bond cannot be scratched even by a diamond. Facing the real world, one of the necessity of a family is money. Yes, fathers are usually the one who provides it. I don't know why, but it's like when the world begun it was already written as a law that a father MUST be the one to support the family needs with all his strength. There are times that a man feel so obligated that he must sacrifice even the bond between his own family, that is in modern time. Take my father as an example. He is an O.F.W., goes home every 9 to ten months of work overseas, takes his vacation for 2 to 3 months at home and just repeats everything from the start. He is a father who is well aware of what sacrifice means.
Baptized as "Roel S. Madlangbayan", he is a fatherless father. My grandmother, who is my father's mother, got pregnant at the age of 18 and my grandfather was a soldier and got shot when my father was 5 months old in granny's womb. When grandma gave birth, she went at my grandpa's house and left papa under grandpa's siblings' custody. This doesn't mean grandma is evil. She had to make a sacrifice just to earn a living for she lives as a single mom now. Years passed, grandma married a man older than her and out of love, gave birth to seven more beautiful children. Grandma lives in Mindanao, and papa has this unbreakable bond in Luzon. With no hard feelings, papa stayed at grandpa's hometown and grandma in hers. By the use of letters, they keep in touch and sometimes they visit papa in Luzon.
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| My Grandma: Nanay Elma |
I especially admire his days when he was in his youthful days. Playing guitar and singing with his soothing voice is one of his specialty at the age of 13. Being anywhere he wants to be at, he often stays at the church to borrow a guitar and play his music. Enhancing his skills in what God had gifted him with, he joined singing contests and wins money as a prize. This is one of his ways in being an independent child despite all four guardians he stayed with. He also studied with all his might, earning tons of recognition. And in his twenties, he build his own house with his own strength (where I am currently living in). He never had self-pity of not having a smiling mother when he's home or not having a brave father to protect him from delinquents (Or he is rather good at hiding it).
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| My papa (I don't know who that baby is) |
When he was painting one of his guardian's house, according to him, he saw the greatest radiant being (she's my mom). In no time, papa get to know who mama was (papa is quite the sociable man and mama is the popular one). Apparently, mama jut broke up with his 6-years boyfriend, so it took quite the time wooing my mom. After two years of courtship, 8 months of dating, they got married. Surely, being newly-weds was tough for mama. Papa was quite lost and got into vices that mama can't handle. I think there was this point wherein my mama threatened papa that she'll leave the house. But God is so good. Knowing that my mama was pregnant, it was like papa's bad manners was swept away by a hurricane. They had their family planning well arranged. My sister and brother had 4 years age gap. I consider myself lucky though. I am a coincidence. Coincidence or not I'm here, breathing, so there is no point in arguing this matter to them like a baby. My age gap with my brother is roughly a year.
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| My papa and mama at my ate's high school night at C.C.A. |
Knowing that I am not planned, maybe I just rumbled their perfect planning for two children. I can't remember but I think he wasn't supposed to be an O.F.W. I'm not sure though. I think he was supposed to work here in our country. Going back through the times when I'm with my father, all I can recall is when I was a second grader. Although I see pictures with him when I graduated in my kindergarten years, it is just so blurry.
Despite all these foggy memories of mine, my papa has load of legacies I admire so much (or so I think it's legacy). First is that moment when he saved me from drowning when I was 2 years old. They said that I went beside the four feet pool and was staring at the water. Watching me doing that, maybe papa thought of me as cute and stared at me too. But in a blink of an eye, I jumped into the pool that startled my papa who wasn't supposed to swim that day. Imagining it, I just can't stop laughing. Mama told me that she was talking with some friends when that happened and papa was the one who offered to look after me, and as she turned her head to see how we were doing, she saw papa dripping wet and poker-faced carrying me with his two hands wrapped under my armpits while I had red rimmed eyes.
| Maybe I should have stayed in this instead. |
Second is when there was this guy who we thought of my sister's friend and who will eventually be my ate's suitor. My papa had a very stable relationship with him. He would tag along whenever we were to go somewhere. But an unfortunate event had occurred. My kuya and I was at my neighbor's house, mama and papa buying things we needed and the guy and my ate at our house. It was 5:00 p.m. when we heard shouting at the house. As kuya and I entered the house, the guy was down at his feet, holding his red cheeks, his back leaning onto our door. I was petrified knowing that my papa can do such thing. Knowing that my calm and intelligent papa did that, into what extent did my ate pushed my papa? I got nervous, of course. And so, the story was not that bad. It was a complete misunderstanding but things between that guy and our family will never be restored for that one mistake he made. Well since he is a good guy, I still meet him at church and talk of lots of things freely with him (I go to church earlier than anyone else in our family). Yes, my papa was overprotective and maybe a perfectionist at times, but that is his charming points too.
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| My papa and ate at her 18th birthday. |
Lastly, he is a good husband and father. Knowing too well that we only meet 4 to 3 months a year, he NEVER cheated on my mama! I'm proud to say that! Since there are O.F.W.s who are prone in missing passionate hugs and kisses, many wives are worried that their husband will never come back and stay where they are with their mistress or the worst case scenario is that their husband will be bringing another child home. This isn't the case for my papa. He is a a very refined person. Never did he set his eyes upon any other ladies except for my mama! I think it's also because of us, his children. Maybe he thinks of us and our future so strongly that he inevitably forgets of desire. It is rather troublesome for mama in a way. I sometimes feel sad for mama because there are these instances that we get cool stuffs from papa and mama only gets lame stuffs. I'm bad for saying that they're lame so let me rephrase that at least, lame stuff with love. Anyway, we are very blessed to be with a papa like him.
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| This is the "Madlangbayan" family. Nice to meet you! |
Surely, the time will come that he doesn't need to be doing hard works overseas. I'll repay him and my dream is to give them a house big enough for papa and mama to run around in, with a garden that brings bliss just by seeing it. There is so many things that I wanna share about him, but it would just take me years to finish it all. The best papa like him deserves the best child, I think. I still have a long way to go. For now, he accepts me for who I am. I know that when he reads the quote "The best papa like him deserves the best child" he'll just laugh it off and say that I'm fine just the way I am right now. He's so soft yet strong, so intelligent yet loves to have fun, so protective yet sweet. He really is the man that every woman dream of. One day, I'll find a man like him and sure enough I'll love him just like how my mama loves my papa. All of this is just because of one reason: I LOVE MY PAPA! <3
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| Our plain yet sweet family. (taken after doing loads of work) <3 ~END~ |
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