Tribute to the dad who did small things with great love

 As parents we usually try to give the best for our children. We slog and work very hard to ensure that all their needs are taken care. Very often we end up giving them big and expensive things which really like but they may not really appreciate our sacrifices behind all those expensive gifts and rewards. When I look back at my own life, I realize that it is the little things done with great love by my parents that I tend to remember most. It was not the material value of what they gave but the value of the efforts they put into that seemed to have struck me and remains vividly in my mind.

The following story in my life is one such effort by my late father when I was in school about 48years ago.

At that time I was in standard 5. We were rather poor depending totally on my father’s income as a hospital attendant.  My mother used to give me 5 or 10sen as pocket money to school every day. My parents tried their very best to ensure they had that money every morning. Looking back now I realized the trouble they would have gone through just to get that 10sen to make sure I don’t go hungry in school.

One morning my mother did not have even that 5sen to give me to school. She sent me without any pocket money and I obediently went without making a fuss. While in school just at the bell rang for recess, I was feeling hungry but did not have any money to buy food. Just I walked out of the classroom I saw my father entering the school compound on his bicycle. He saw me and quickly came over and handed over 10sen for my food that morning. I took the money, bid him goodbye and rushed to the canteen to join my friends for some food and drink. I in fact felt embarrassed when my friends teased that my father had come to bring the money to school.

That evening back at home my mother explained how my father got the money for me. He was very sad when my mother told him she did not have the pocket money for me. He went to work and managed to borrow 10sen from his friend, take time off from his superior and rushed to the school to hand over the money before recess, which he made it just in time.

At that tender age I was not aware of how he would have felt when he couldn’t give me even 5sen to school. It did not understand how he would have felt when he had to borrow 10sen from his friend, approach his boss to get time off and rush to send me the miserable 10sen.

Now when I recall and picture the scenes I feel so proud of my father. What he gave me might be very small but it was done with a big heart. How happy and contended he would felt when he managed to bring that 10sen to me in time. How pleased he would have felt when he saw the happiness in my face on receiving the money.

Yes, it is the little things others do for us with great love somehow remains in our hearts. That was what Mother Teresa asked us to do in our own lives,  “We cannot do great things but we can do small things with great love”.

To all children out there treasure every moment who have with your dad and appreciate everything he does for you.And dads remember is not the big things that matter but the small things that you do with great love for your children.

Happy Father's Day