Fathers' Day Thoughts

I heard a cousin of mine complained that he wasn't loved enough by his father. "Pera, meron kami. Pero pagmamahal, wala".

I just shook my head in disbelief. I personally heard from his own father, how he loved his son, and how he showered him with things he was deprived of while growing up. Grandpa wasn't the ideal father. He was strict but didn't provide enough for his 9 children. He just let them go their own way while he was busy in his farm and with his friends. From what I heard, it was grandma who inspired them to dream dreams.

But I never heard my uncle nor his siblings complained against their father. No love, and no money. Yet they respected their father so much.

Now here comes my cousin badmouthing his father. "It could have been better if di na lang siya nag abroad."

I asked myself, "Is this the general feeling of the children of OFWs?" Honestly, i sometimes envy them coz they have almost everything. We were not rich financially. But my own Dad, showered us with love while growing up. I cannot ask for more.

So I shoot this question to my cousin, "How do you want to be loved by yourfather?" I followed it up relating to him about his father's own struggle while growing up and how he achieved the status he reached now. Some fathers could not express love the way we want them. No hugs and kisses. Just allowance and material things. We can not blame them for that. They need our understanding too. If we're hurt, they're hurt too.

I'm not sure if my cousin understood all that I said. But I hope he did. That conversation was 3 years ago. He's a father now to a bouncy baby boy. And I hoped  he patched things up with his own father as well.