My pillar, my strength, my critic, my guide... my Dad!

My brothers & I had been planning our Dad’ 70^th birthday since the last 3 years. Our plan was to fly down to Kerala, whisk our parents off to my exotic destination nearby to celebrate the day and then have a lavish weekend party with all our 100+ relatives and friends.

The countdown had started but so had all the obstacles. My brothers and their families could not fly down because of ‘n’ number of cannot-be-put-off things that had started raining down upon us.

Dad understood.

As he always had. Putting us & our needs first has always been second-nature to him.

As a child, my eyes had to only settle down on something for him to get it for me… of course, only if it was in my best interests. If we were studying too hard, he would tell us to watch Chitrahaar and Chayageet on Doordarshan because according to him small distractions sharpened your memory. He encouraged us to be all-rounders… he was just as pleased if we won a medal in sports or debate or even best handwriting as he was when we were ranked at the top in studies. He taught us compassion, empathy and how helping others increased your joy too… by his own example. Every holiday was spent either with relatives or embracing our common love for travelling to new cities and experiencing that culture thus broadening our horizons.

When we flew off his ‘nest’, he never caused any hindrance… in fact he had already sharpened our wings and taught us to be independent and strong and march ahead no matter how high the obstacles.

Who I am today and what I have achieved… he is one of the major contributors. I am sure my brothers would say the same thing.

I saw him trying hard to hide his disappointment at not being with his family for his 70^th birthday.  

That is when he had one of his ‘Eureka’ moments. So what, if his sons and grandsons could not make it? We could go there and he could still celebrate with his family, right?

“After all, what is a birthday without family?”, he asked.

“Nothing!”, we chorused.

I have realized that as our parents get older, their hopes and wishes are all centered around being with family especially during special occasions. They ‘understand’ that we are busy but their disappointments are also high at lost chances to be with family.

I have decided that just like I work towards all my relationships to achieve that fine balance, I will do the same for my parents. That is like an overdraft account… I have taken and taken and taken without a second thought and without them ever complaining… now it is my time to give, give and give some more of my time. I have been putting it off thinking we have time… who knows how much we do have indeed? It is probably when we lay counting moments before eternal sleep that we regret the moments lost or put off for another day… I want to go without any karmic debt or regrets on my plate… just embrace the new unknown adventure without looking back.

You have to cut your b'day cake with your family!

Thankfully, US visa with multiple entries is valid for 10 years & thus we could plan this trip right away. I think it was the perfect plan since there were no obstacles of note and impromptu trip was completed successfully without any fuss.

Dad got his wish. His family was right there with him celebrating through the weekend. He really connected with his grand-kids and he was able to even showcase some of his dormant culinary skills. He was so happy that it radiated out of his person. Check him out celebrating with his family... 

Take a b'day treat from the birthday boy!

Just chilling with our birthday boy!

We are glad that we got an opportunity to let him know how special he truly is and how blessed we are that he is OUR DAD!

Happy 70^th Dad! You are the best!