Bababa ba?

Last Sunday’s Father’s Day was the most eventful Father’s Day in my life. Joyous celebration was sandwiched between 2 events of irony.

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Morning: The Top Layer
It was the usual CRIBS visit. Josie and I brought Mom, Chato and Bingot along for a change. In between the haggardness and spilled food and sticky baby drool was the joy in both sides, for us and for the babies. The happiness was a bit short-lived, because when our 2 hours were up, we had to leave. But yeah, my family wasn’t left unchanged. They wanted to go back someday. Mom even volunteered herself and I to manage CRIBS’ site and blog.

What just saddened me afterwards was the fact that these kids didn’t have real mothers and fathers. Yes, they had caretakers and volunteers like us who act as temporary parents, but these kids don’t have someone to call mom or dad in the long term unless some kind couple decides to adopt one of them.

It was somewhat ironic because I was spending Father’s Day with a group of fatherless children. And this I only felt when one of the toddlers called my Mom, “mama,” and called me, “papa.”

Oh well. I do pray that these kids end up in wonderful families someday. But as of now, I’ll try to be their papa for 2 hours every Sunday morning for as long as I can.

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Afternoon: The Middle Layer
After the afternoon mass, the family decided to go to Pizza Hut for a small Father’s Day celebration for Dad. We almost had the place to ourselves as there were only a few other tables occupied. Good times, and good pizza. And good cake too! Hehehe. We had this chocolate cake from Shoppersville. Relatively cheap, but really really sumptuous.

Good times, good times.

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Evening: The Bottom Layer
This has been the saddest part of the day. Alana, one of my highschool best chums texted me last Saturday that her father died the night before (prayers, please). I don’t know the man much, as we only met once in a mall a few years back (I don’t even know his name), but his death still left a gaping hole in my heart. Alana has always talked about him in good praises whenever we got together back then.

Well, even if he was already in an urn by the altar, she still talked about him in good praises. I guess one can’t help but be a daddy’s girl when she is the only girl child in the family (youngest at that).

It was just too sad that a friend of mine lost her father just in time for Father’s Day.

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Today
I guess I have a lot to be thankful right now. Obviously, Dad hasn’t abandoned us one way or another, and he’s still in good health with hopefully a few more decades left in his gas tank. I know that sometimes we don’t see eye to eye on things (well, I couldn’t name a person who is in pristine perfect terms with his or her father), but I’m glad that he’s here for us. I’m glad that I still have a father.

Think of this as a late Father’s Day post.

Thanks Dad. :) We all love you.

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Could You be Father?
I guess it would be best to end this entry of mine with an excerpts from what I believe is one of the more powerful songs in these days. It could be straying a bit from what I wrote up there (or not!), but this certain stanza in the song depicts what a father (and of course, our Father and our Big Brother up there) can do: calm and guide you when you feel abandoned. When you’ve been abandoned by your father, just like the kids in CRIBS, and when your father went on ahead, just like Alana.

I pray and hope these people find comfort in the Big Daddy and our Big Brother Jesus up there.

Gary Valenciano - Could You be Messiah?

Could You be father
To a soul that’s been abandoned
By a world too busy to hear?
Could You be friend
To a helpless survivor?
Can You take away my fears?

Please, be Father, be Messiah. To all of us.

God bless all of you. :)