Daddy and Me
I was Daddy's one and only Princess for 4 years.
I remember before Mei came along, I used to wait for Daddy to come home from work. He was working in a now defunct match factory. I used to do funny faces and stunts when he got back home. Sometimes I pretended to sleep on the cushion pillows on the floor. Once in a while I followed Daddy to the factory at night. He'd check on the staffs before going into his office. I remember seeing thousands and thousands of matches on the machine. Every month or so, he had to go into the forest to look for timbers. When he came back, he'd show me that he was stung by insects. I remember I used to ask him the price of a box of matches. He told me it was 10 cents. I asked 'Why don't you sell it at 60 cents or more? Then you can earn lots of money!'. I know he told me they couldn't do that but I don't recall the reason.
Dad went to a chinese school until he was 15. He went to an English school since. When I was 6, I couldn't speak a word of chinese but my parents sent me to a chinese school. I couldn't even write my name in chinese. I remember I brought my text books home and asked Daddy to write my name in chinese on the cover of the books. Daddy has beautiful handwriting.
Daddy must have left the match factory when I was around 6. He set up his own accounting firm. He became more and more busy and hardly spent time with me. I still remember our family outings to the beach on Friday evenings. We used to bring home little crabs and starfish. Daddy went on a fishing trip once and he brought back 2 medium sized crabs for me. I didn't have the heart to eat them so I kept them as pet. Every few days, I changed water for my pet. I didn't have sea water with me so I added lots and lots and lots of salt in the pail, thinking as long as the water was salty, my pets would survive. They died eventually. I don't remember being sad though.
When I was about 10, I wasn't that close to Daddy anymore. I became stubborn. He's a man with few words. I used to hate him because he used to slap me. That didn't happen very often because his level of tolerance is high. I must have been really naughty that he slapped me. I hardly spent time with Daddy because he used to go for his Mahjong sessions with his friends after work and only came home late at night when my siblings and I were in bed.
I remember I used to dread holding a conversation with Daddy. He's a stern man. I wasn't performing well during my A-level days and I used to avoid conversation with him because I thought he had high expectations but I was wrong. I felt guilty for making him pay so much for my tuition fee but not doing well. When I was home, I felt uneasy when we were at the dining table. I dreaded spending time with Daddy alone.
Our relationship took a turn when I came overseas. Dad and I became closer. He was worried that I couldn't cope since I didn't have any accounting background. He is very concerned about me. He's always encouraging me. Mommy told me that when I was sitting for my exams, Daddy was the one who was anxious. He was so happy when he saw my results. I could tell he was pleased.
I remember how angry and upset Mommy was when I told her I was going out with the ex. I thought Daddy would side her. I was wrong. He didn't say much but he told me not to neglect my studies and if I'm happy with him, just go ahead.
Daddy couldn't make it for my graduation last year because of work commitment. I could tell how guilty he felt when he told me he couldn't make it. The deadline for the tax submission was a day before my graduation so he couldn't make it. Daddy is not a very technology savvy person. He didn't use mobile phone until last year when I went home and he doesn't know how to use a computer. On the morning of my graduation day, he told my brother to send me a text message. He told me how proud he is that I'm the first one in the family to wear the mortar board. He apologised for not being able to attend the ceremony but he promised that he'll attend the next one. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I read the text.
Daddy has changed a lot over the years. He's less stern now and he always jokes with us. He doesn't scold us anymore. Instead, he advises us. I like listening to him giving advises. I always look forward to weekends so I can call him and talk to him. We usually talk for about 10 minutes everytime I call but that's enough. Before he says Bye to me, he never fails to say 'Take care ahh'.
Today's Father's Day. This post is dedicated to Daddy.
Thank you for being there for me when I need you the most.
Thank you for being my pillar of strength.
Thank you for bringing the bacon home.
Thank you for providing everything I need and everything I want in life.
Thank you for everything.
You're my best Daddy and will always be one.
Love you always.
I remember before Mei came along, I used to wait for Daddy to come home from work. He was working in a now defunct match factory. I used to do funny faces and stunts when he got back home. Sometimes I pretended to sleep on the cushion pillows on the floor. Once in a while I followed Daddy to the factory at night. He'd check on the staffs before going into his office. I remember seeing thousands and thousands of matches on the machine. Every month or so, he had to go into the forest to look for timbers. When he came back, he'd show me that he was stung by insects. I remember I used to ask him the price of a box of matches. He told me it was 10 cents. I asked 'Why don't you sell it at 60 cents or more? Then you can earn lots of money!'. I know he told me they couldn't do that but I don't recall the reason.
Dad went to a chinese school until he was 15. He went to an English school since. When I was 6, I couldn't speak a word of chinese but my parents sent me to a chinese school. I couldn't even write my name in chinese. I remember I brought my text books home and asked Daddy to write my name in chinese on the cover of the books. Daddy has beautiful handwriting.
Daddy must have left the match factory when I was around 6. He set up his own accounting firm. He became more and more busy and hardly spent time with me. I still remember our family outings to the beach on Friday evenings. We used to bring home little crabs and starfish. Daddy went on a fishing trip once and he brought back 2 medium sized crabs for me. I didn't have the heart to eat them so I kept them as pet. Every few days, I changed water for my pet. I didn't have sea water with me so I added lots and lots and lots of salt in the pail, thinking as long as the water was salty, my pets would survive. They died eventually. I don't remember being sad though.
When I was about 10, I wasn't that close to Daddy anymore. I became stubborn. He's a man with few words. I used to hate him because he used to slap me. That didn't happen very often because his level of tolerance is high. I must have been really naughty that he slapped me. I hardly spent time with Daddy because he used to go for his Mahjong sessions with his friends after work and only came home late at night when my siblings and I were in bed.
I remember I used to dread holding a conversation with Daddy. He's a stern man. I wasn't performing well during my A-level days and I used to avoid conversation with him because I thought he had high expectations but I was wrong. I felt guilty for making him pay so much for my tuition fee but not doing well. When I was home, I felt uneasy when we were at the dining table. I dreaded spending time with Daddy alone.
Our relationship took a turn when I came overseas. Dad and I became closer. He was worried that I couldn't cope since I didn't have any accounting background. He is very concerned about me. He's always encouraging me. Mommy told me that when I was sitting for my exams, Daddy was the one who was anxious. He was so happy when he saw my results. I could tell he was pleased.
I remember how angry and upset Mommy was when I told her I was going out with the ex. I thought Daddy would side her. I was wrong. He didn't say much but he told me not to neglect my studies and if I'm happy with him, just go ahead.
Daddy couldn't make it for my graduation last year because of work commitment. I could tell how guilty he felt when he told me he couldn't make it. The deadline for the tax submission was a day before my graduation so he couldn't make it. Daddy is not a very technology savvy person. He didn't use mobile phone until last year when I went home and he doesn't know how to use a computer. On the morning of my graduation day, he told my brother to send me a text message. He told me how proud he is that I'm the first one in the family to wear the mortar board. He apologised for not being able to attend the ceremony but he promised that he'll attend the next one. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I read the text.
Daddy has changed a lot over the years. He's less stern now and he always jokes with us. He doesn't scold us anymore. Instead, he advises us. I like listening to him giving advises. I always look forward to weekends so I can call him and talk to him. We usually talk for about 10 minutes everytime I call but that's enough. Before he says Bye to me, he never fails to say 'Take care ahh'.
Today's Father's Day. This post is dedicated to Daddy.
Thank you for being there for me when I need you the most.
Thank you for being my pillar of strength.
Thank you for bringing the bacon home.
Thank you for providing everything I need and everything I want in life.
Thank you for everything.
You're my best Daddy and will always be one.
Love you always.
