To Pepz, The Coolest Dad in the World (or as I Say the Kool-itest Ever)

I wrote this way back in 2008 and while some things may have changed, the sentiment remains the same....

 
THE other day, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone. It was my dad.
(My parents recently moved to Bataan -- Puerto Rivas, a small fishing
community, to be exact -- to serve as a pastor to a small Methodist
church there. (They've moved back to Quezon City and are busier than ever administering to a larger flock.)

       "We watched the sun rise as the fishermen came from the sea," he
texted. "We bought shrimps and are having them for breakfast."

       That's my dad, always finding something new to discover, always eager to
learn. It can get dizzying at times, but I must confess I've learned a
lot in the process.

       He's collected and done creative (posters and murals) things with matches, dabbled in the kitchen and produced delectable delights like adobong puso ng manok,
siopao (that we had to eat for a month because he got so enthusiastic
he whipped up a whole month's supply), he's succumbed to the lure of
Shopping TV and bought one of those chopping things to supply us with
chopped veggies and fruits galore, he's done the carpentry stuff and
fixed a few leaking pipes as well. But beyond the usual household
things, my father is relentless in his quest to learn new things.

       Let's see, there was a time when he  trained in Acupuncture and
Acupressure and I ended up with needles in my arms and hands to ward
off fever. Don't worry, I got my own back by sticking needles in
between his eyebrows and forehead. (They were used to cure a fever.)
From that experience, I learned to rely on massage and pressure,
instead of medicine, whenever I feel a headache or fever coming.

       From my dad, a staunch environmentalist, I learned to value the seeds
that come from the fruits that we eat. I don't throw the seeds, instead I've
learned to put them away so that we can plant them in the future. My
father is so infectious, that he has gotten my son to do the same
thing only worse. Naki now refuses to throw anything away and instead
lectures me by shouting, "Recyle, Nay!"  whenever I'm headed towards
the garbage can.

       At times, I think I'm the laid back type because my dad is so active,
so full of ideas that I get tired just looking at him pounding away on
his computer churning out books, sermons, songs, poems, recipes,
prayers and more. By the way, along with my mom, they have a column,
Bahay Kubo, every Sunday (morning edition, Una Sa Balita) in Abante. Right smack in
the political section, they're a breath of fresh air discussing seeds,
 the pleasures of planting and other environmental concerns.

       But perhaps one of the most important things I've learned from my dad is to never
let problems affect my life. From him, I've learned to try and look
for the things you can get from the hurting process and use them
positively. From him, too, I've learned to rely on prayers and depend
on love to see me through. Most of all, from him, I've learned that it
matters not if you are rich, as long as you have integrity and do what
is right. The Lord will take care of the rest. Amen to that.

     Happy Father's Day, Pepz!!