THIS story is about daddy—yours, mine and theirs. It is probably one of those stories that we all have in common, something that we can nod to in agreement. It’s about dad’s peculiarity that makes us go, “Daddy, daddy, daddy, ooooh.”
Have you ever taken dad shopping? Notice how he just eyes on the things he want, which he probably need, but just stare at it? Don’t you think that "dad is the hardest man to take shopping?"
You see he wants it. You know he needs it. “What is he waiting for?,” you ask yourself. Then a hundred reasons run through your head trying to come up with one logical answer why he’s eyeing on something but won’t to buy it for himself.
The ‘attitude’ extends beyond the retail shop. On dining out, it’s always, “Anong gusto nyong kainin?.” He lets everyone else order and just nibble on what’s on the table feeling content with a beer on hand.
You ask, “Hindi ka kakain?,” and his reply would be, “Kumain lang kayo d’yan, OK na ako dito.”
You ask, “Hindi ka kakain?,” and his reply would be, “Kumain lang kayo d’yan, OK na ako dito.”
Unless we are wearing their shoes, then we won’t be able to fathom the real reason why dads won’t shop for the stuff they need or eat the food we order. There is just that ‘maybe’.
Maybe he does not really need it. Maybe he really does not want it that bad. Maybe he wants it in another color. Maybe he wants something else to eat. Maybe he’s setting the money aside to buy grocery, pay the house bills, for the school tuition, for the mortgage, for insurance. Maybe, just maybe the reason he’s holding back on these “unnecessary expenses” is you. Maybe it’s all about you and the rest of the family. Maybe he wants to put his family’s needs ahead of his.
Or maybe, at this point in his life, he’s just waiting for us his kids and wife, to buy these things he needs and/or wants for him, order the dish everyone will enjoy, or just be pampered like he pampers his brood. He just don't utter the words.
So, the next time you are out malling with the family and your dad stares at something a bit longer than normal, raise a shirt and say, “Maganda ito, ah,” or tries on a pair of shoes and smiles, but let's go of it, take a hint. Buy it! More than him admiring these, he wants it.
This month is the best time to take him around with the retail shops, hotels, restaurants and pampering centers are offering great deals on Father’s Day month. You not only save on a few bucks, but you also make ‘the man’ smile (and be proud of you).
Maybe it is in the genetic make-up of men that this oddity is triggered the moment they become fathers. I don’t know. I won’t be able to find out because I am not a father and won’t be a one either. Maybe I am correct in my assumptions above. Maybe.
But this one thing I am sure of: if we can make everyday a happy father’s day for dad, then let’s do it. Cheers to you, man of the house! Thank you for the love.
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For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/ and http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on June 14, 2015.