To The Moon and Back…

Was reading D’s blog and what she wrote struck a chord with me. I like the book Guess How Much I Love You too. It’s a simple book that tells of a parent’s love for the child. And I know for sure, my daddy’s love for me can go to the moon and back and there and back again.  =) 

I spent a long time waiting at the doc today. As I waited, I observed a few phenomenon.  It was usually the mum who brought the sick child to the doc. There was this particular kid who reminded me of when I was young, cos it was his dad who brought him to the doc. Same for me when I was young.  As it was easier for my dad to take leave, he was often the one who brought me to the doc. I was my dad’s little princess and he would be very very concerned when I fell sick.

I had asthma when I was 3. Initally, my dad spent many sleepless nights looking after me. According to my mum, it pained him to see his little princess having those terrible wheezing coughs. On nights that I could not sleep well, he would carry me and walk around as somehow I slept better that way. My parents often tells me of this time when I had a high fever and had to go through the ‘ice bath’ at the hospital. My dad used to say that when he saw how frightened I was and how I cried and shivered when the nurses threw the ice water on me, his heart really ached. Yet he didn’t have much of a choice cos my fever was really high.

As I grew up, my asthma became less frequent. Week after week, my dad would faithfully bring me to this Chinese sinseh in Ang Mo Kio to get tonics. When we reached home, he would immediately start to cook those tonics for me and I usually had to drink it up after dinner. I used to make faces and tried every ways and means to avoid drinking the tonics but to no avail. It had never occurred to me that my dad had gone to great pains and all he wanted was for the asthma to leave me permanently.

Because of my dad’s care, I was a very healthy child all the way until Uni. It was only during my final year that I fell sick a bit more frequently. CG says I’m very weak, or perhaps it’s due to stress. Perhaps. My final year in Uni was stressful, I fell sick more and had more breakouts. To make things worse, by then I was a grown-up girl who refused to listen to Daddy’s well-meaning advice. ;( After graduating, I was healthy again. The flu bug could have spread through the whole office but I was unharmed. Until last year when I started taking up more appointments…

If my dad were still around, he would be telling me that I need to work hard, but I also need to take tonics. And knowing my dad, he would be coming to me the very next moment with some tonic soup. Come to think of it, it’s been 2 years since I last drank my favourite black chicken tonic soup.

One thing I love about my dad - he would support me in whatever I wanted to do, be it taking part in school competitions, working hard at work etc. He never stopped me and always made me feel that he was behind me. He never ever put me down or make me feel that I was lousy. At the same time, he would do little stuff like fetch me around, prepare tonic soup etc. Just the other day, my brother commented that my dad made it a point to go to all of my prize-giving days, graduations etc. I know my bro was feeling a bit sad, cos he won’t get to enjoy the same treatment.

I’m really thankful for my dad. And I really miss him. Tomorrow I’ll be going to the lawyer’s to settle his stuff. And I hate doing such things cos it always brutally reminds me that he’s no longer around…

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