Abbu

I was trying to pick out a card for my dad yesterday and I couldn't find any that adequately expressed how I feel about him. Not being able to find anything made me think harder about how I feel about him.

He's an incredibly hard working man. If I put myself in his place, I don't understand how he sacrificed the best years of his life to go live away from his wife and kids just so that he could provide for us. For the longest time, he worked on marine ships and was away for most of the time. He was then back before I was born. Lived with his family the way we're supposed to have it. But the situation in Pakistan forced him to find a job in Saudi Arabia. He spent some ten years away from his wife and kids. TEN YEARS. He would see his wife and kids for a month every year. ONE MONTH every year. We couldn't have moved with him for various other family reasons. 

To this day he wishes he had been there with us when we were growing up. I wish he was there with us when I was growing up. For some reason, among all of us siblings, I have always been the closest to him. I used to make sure I have a letter for him every time my mom sent one, which was very frequently. And of course I used to be upset if my mom mailed him a letter without telling me to write one, or worse if he only wrote to my mom.

I remember missing him, like actually craving for him. I don't know what those years were like for him. Now when we talk about it, he never, ever, ever wants to live without his family.

He was always present in my life still, through numerous letters and phone calls. I still have all of those letters, both the ones he wrote to me and the ones I wrote to him. We had back and forth jokes through letters :).

My daddy is awesome.

I am really quite amazed at how determined and focused he is about the well-being of his family, he lives for it. His life IS all about us. I can see that. I love him!! There are no competing priorities, it is just the family that is at the top of his priorities and nothing whatsoever interferes.

People have jokingly called him a workaholic, because he works that hard (and he might actually be one). I have learned from him what it means to really put yourself to something and give it your all. He makes small, practical goals and he gives it his all. In the end he ends up doing so much better than everyone else I know.

My mom on the other hand aims high. She makes huge goals and puts herself to it. She achieves them too. They just go about them differently. Where my family stands right now, it is because of the mutual efforts of the two of them, their mutual highest priority of the family and their hard working nature to bring about the best kind of life they can provide for us.

I really do need to learn from them both. I "aim" past (what I consider) my upper limits (which is sometimes really impractical). I am still in the process of meeting my goals and I need what my dad does. I know I put myself to my goals too. But I can definitely improve. And I need to learn from my dad.

He definitely is the person from whom I learn what strength looks like. He can face life's adversities and keep going. He doesn't give up easily. He's a real softy on the inside too - just watch him play with my niece and how none of his workaholic stuff matters as soon as it comes to my niece.

This is all regardless of how much I dislike his rules that I have to live by every day and all the disagreements that ensue.