Happy Father's Day- A Little Late

There are few things that any of us can be certain of in this world. The saying goes that nothing is certain but death and taxes. I would like to add my father's love to this list.

If there is anything I am sure of, it is my father's love for me.

Like most men, Papa t doesn't really speak of his feelings on an every day basis. Rather, he shares with you stories of his simple straightforward observations. Now one could assume said stories will end with a moral of the day, or at least a theory or an opinion. But one would be wrong. Call it non-editorial stories.

E.g. This story was told to me by papa t after he picked me up from morning practice in Singapore. The pool where I swam at in Singapore belonged to a school. So, while waiting to pick me up from practice, Papa t would sit in the parking lot where parents would drop their kids off for school.

Papa t : Today I saw a lot of parents drop their kids off for school.
me: uh huh
Papa t: Some parents would park their cars and walk their kids in. Other parents just dropped them off without even a kiss or a hug.
me: really?
Papa t: Then some of them had their maids take the kids down while they waited in the car.
Papa t: I also saw a school bus/van pull up with the kindergarten students. The bus driver tied all the kids to a rope to keep them from running away.
me: what?? Oh like those leash thing.
Papa t: yes
me (expecting the moral of the story or his opinion on what he would have done/did when he dropped my brother and I off at school).....
THE END! And this is just a mild example. It sometimes gets even more random (think listing of foods he has eaten and how much it cost him).

So, for this untimely Father's day post, and in honor of my father's straightforward observations let me tell you some things that I've observed about my papa, who I so dearly love.

Papa t is a man of God. He lives his life on the straight and narrow path. He is my role model. To know him is to respect him.

Papa t is intelligent yet awkward at the same time. He can engage you in a conversation comparing the similarities between Harry Potter and LOTR (true story- happened when I introduced my ex-boyfriend to papa t) and in the next second get all intellectual on you, sprouting theories and philosophies left and right.

Papa t is good with his hands yet he is the clumsiest person ever. He is so light on his feet that he moves around without so much as a squeak of a floorboard. But when he "accidentally" steps on your toes, it feels like an elephant just sat down on your foot. "Lun Jun!" I guess he is like those gentle giants that don't even know the full extent of their strength, let alone the capacity to control it.

When you argue with papa t, he withdraws into himself and just sits there frowning. Not because he doesn't know what to say or because he is backing down or giving in. Instead he is silent because he wants to give the other person time to think about why they are wrong. (The humor in this is that it usually backfires on him and further enrages the other person, b/c sometimes we just need to argue it out.)

Papa t jogs almost everyday for over an hour. He jogs with his hands by his side, like limp dead fish. (I shouldn't laugh b/c I can barely jog for 20 minutes)

Papa t tucks in all his shirts and wears his pants way too high on his waist (more like his chest/nipples). The funny thing is that he actually pulls it off because he truly doesn't care what other people think of his outfit.

Whenever I would get into trouble with papa t during my mischievous younger years, he would chase me around the house with a cane (come now, I'm Asian. I had to have a cane somewhere in my childhood), hitting everything in sight, but not me. It's not that his aim was bad, he just never intended to raise a hand to hit me.

Papa t has the worst sense of direction. We bought him a GPS last year.

Papa t allowed my mom and I to move across the world without him when I was 15, all so that I could pursue my swimming career. He sacrificed his wife and comforts of a family for me and my dream.

While others struggle with anger, jealousy, and lust; Papa t admits his greatest sin is gluttony. LOL

Kids and animals love papa t! Its like he's a magnet for them. I think it's his gentle nature and calming sense that attracts them.

Papa t works best in dim lights. The dimmer the better.

Growing up, papa t would always stroke my hair back and tell me he loves me and that he was "so proud so proud" of me. He once told me he stroked my hair back because that was what his parents used to do for him when he was a child.

Love you Pa! Happy belated Father's Day