To Baba (my dad, he is the best gift God chose to give me):
“Any Man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a DAD!”
This review is dedicated to that special person in my life who meant so much to me –but sadly, I could not tell that to him, now I never can. Baba, wherever you are, I loved you very much. I lost my dad on my parent’s wedding anniversary, May 9, 2005, at 5.45 p.m. I will hate this day for the rest of my life.
I think this writing by Erma Bombeck(at https://nitewriter.net/whengodcreatedfathers.htm) called “When God Created Fathers, ” describes everything my dad was and most dads on this earth are. When I was browsing through the net, I found this writing, which truly touched my heart and reminded me of someone who meant more than the world to me.
If there is one gift I could die for today is to get my dad back so that I could tell him how much he meant to me, how much I loved and respected him, how I adored him and tried to be like him, how proud I was of him.
The best gifts a child can give a father, according to me, is –
Tell him how much you love and care about him – I know, in this age and era, with all our hectic lives and busy schedules and egos and resentments and age differences, it might not be easy, but tomorrow, you might not get that opportunity. [Trust me when I say this, every one who is born has to die, so if you care about someone, say so, before it is too late.]
Spend time with him – though this might seem silly or weird to you, they will cherish this the MOST. If you can do something special like taking your dad out for a whole day or something, there is nothing like it, but if you cannot, just sit with him, talk to him, tell him about your life, your work, plans, etc., ask him his opinions(trust me, he has seen more life than you), make him a part of your life, include him in every small thing you do.
If there is an opportunity, help him out in his work.
We have this special tradition in our family, where on any occasion(birthday or anniversary, Father’s day/Mother’s day), we have a small party where we give gifts, and all of us write a letter to that person telling them how much they mean to us and thanking them for being in our lives or anything you want to tell them which you might not be so comfortable telling in person. I have all those letters I had written to my dad and he to me – sometimes that is all you will be left with, i.e., memories. If you don’t think it is too old fashioned, you could try it.
Stop expecting him to take care of you (but nevertheless, they do). All their lives they struggle to give you a happy life - once you are in a position to do something, shoulder his responsibilities.
“Even when time and age were not on your side,
Even when your bones were too brittle,
Even when your eyes were tired and wanted to relax,
You went on,
Too proud to admit it,
Through rain and sunshine,
Through all the hardships,
Never thinking of your happiness or comfort,
Not letting us get a whiff of the hardships in life
Protecting us from all the evil
You were our shield,
You were our cocoon,
Till one day, your heart could take it no longer,
I know now you are resting,
But Baba you will always go on in my heart, forever.’
- Lastly, a gift is a way of telling someone you love them and know them - so know their tastes. It always makes sense if you gift something they would want rather than something impersonal or something what you think they will like. My dad used to love watches and clothes, so we used to end up buying him all the cool watches and some real cool clothes(Yes, we did end up getting chastised, but only for a while, nevertheless, he would be very happy – I guess you can take anything to see that happiness in his eyes and the feeling that he is so proud of you). One could also go for shoes, deodorants, a tie, or if he likes gold, a nice bracelet or a chain in gold. I have to agree the options are limited when you are gifting a guy when compared to your mom/sister/girlfriend/wife.
Lastly friends, I am not sure how much this is helpful for you to choose a gift for your dad, but there are some lessons Life teaches you for which you pay a very huge price - let us learn from them.
The best gift God has given us is our family, first being our parents and then siblings, take care of them, EVERYTHING else comes next. I guess we all must have read these quotes a million times, but sometimes you don’t relate it to your life. All of us dont need a tragedy to help us learn some things, so take every opportunity to take care of the ones you love.