Best Lessons I Learned From My Dad

It was Father's day last week but I guess it's always best to honor our parents all year long.

Today, I wanna share with you the life lessons I learned from my Papa. And how those life lessons has helped me breeze through life.

My father was the typical baby boomer kind of dad. Silent. Strict. And a man of few words. But he instilled to me a lot of lessons I still keep to my heart until now.

Sumunod ka muna, bago ka sumuway.

I always wondered what it meant when I was younger. Di ko gets mga baksh. Paano pa ko susuway kung sumunod na ko? Daya! But as I grew older and wiser, I realized how wonderful these words are. Why it is always important to know the rules first and learn them and understand them before you try to break it and make a change.

Now, I would always share those nuggets of wisdom to my younger friends and office mates. Especially the younger millennial na G na G sa thinking out of the box thingy or breaking the rules to create great impact.

Believe me! Breaking the rules para lang masabi na matapang ka is stupid. Sumunod ka muna. Alamin mo na muna kung bakit ganun ang rules. Intindihin mo muna. Kelangan maramdaman mo muna yung sakit ng pagsunod para malaman mo kung saan ka magsisimulang sumuway para makagawa ng malaking impact sa mundo.

I always see myself as the round peg in the square hole. But I was once a square peg. Niliha nalang ng panahon kaya naging round.

I remember one of my favorite book - All American Girl. There's a scene there where the girl, being artistic and rebellious and all, was trying to say something like san makakarating ang mundo ng art kung ang mga kagaya ni Picasso eh sumunod lang ng sumunod sa rules of art. Gigil na gigil kasi sya sa teacher nya because tinuturuan syang mag paint ng tama. And the boy says, those great men actually learned the basics first before they started experimenting and creating works of art.

There. Sumunod muna bago sumuway. Dahil mas madaling sumuway kung alam mo ang rules na sinusuway mo.

So kids, sunod muna.

Ang pag-ibig hindi yan bulag, TANGA!

Hahaha! His words when I had my first boyfriend. Sabi nya, "Oh diba nga? Kita ng mukhang tukmol, aba! Sinagot padin!". Nyahahaha!

And oh boy was that ever true. My bestfriends could attest to that. I am really stupidly in love all the time. But while I laugh at them now, those experiences has shaped me into the kind of person I am today. Those heartbreaks taught me to be braver and stronger. And I hope those experiences would help me when it's time to guide my own daughter pag na in love na sya.

Minsan, okay lang maging tanga.

Ang hindi nagmamahal sa ina, sinusumpa ng langit.

He would always say that to us pag sinasagot namin si Mila. He would always remind us na even si Jesus Christ can't say no to Mama Mary. Oh diba nga, his first miracle was because of Mary. Kasi hiniling ni Mama Mary. He would also remind us na the greatest men in history are known sa pagmamahal sa mga nanay nila.

He would always tell us na di bale ng di namin sya i-respeto basta respetuhin namin ang mama namin. And now I understand why.

I mean, motherhood is difficult. And to be very honest, mahirap siguro sa mga asawa natin na makita tayong nahihirapan. Sa panganganak. On breastfeeding. Those sleepless nights. 

You would always hear great husbands say something like, "I hope I can help my wife more". Totoo diba? For them, burping and changing nappies are not enough but they can't do anything because most of the time, our babies want their mama all the time.

So that's probably why for him, we should always love our mum more. But of course, I love them both equally.

I'm just so happy that my daughter also has a great Tatay. The #ReigningTatay has always been hands-on. Nagpapalit ng diaper. Naghehele. Nagpupuyat with me.

He works really hard for the #FabSkye. But he never miss a special occasion or a milestone. Laging present. Laging andyan. Sometimes he would even go home during lunch breaks just to make sure may food ang bata. He would cook for us. Buy us milk tea in the middle of the night. He would drive for us. Laugh with us. Spend time with us.

He is not perfect. Malayo mga baksh. We bicker all the freakin' time. But when it comes to being a father, not just to the #FabSkye but also to our Ate Yssa and our baby Enchang (both are my niece who lives with us), wala kang masasabi.

Goodluck na nga lang sa nuggets of wisdom. So far ang natuturo nya palang sa #FabSkye ay - tamang pagra-rap, pag-amin pag sya ang umutot, ang wag mahiya pag may performance at ang hindi pagkain ng biscuit bago kumain ng kanin. Oh well! You can't have everything I guess. Hehe!

Happy father's day to the two great men of our lives! Thank you for your unconditional love.

Fathers Lessons Musings