Monday, June 22, 2009

THE GREATEST INFLUENCE OF MY LIFE

It's important to be there for our children during their formative years. Tread a path where they should go. Infuse good values in them. Set good examples for them to emulate. As parents, we are given this amazing "power" to shapen up delicate human beings. But let's be very responsible and be very careful. For the kind of persons that we've molded our children, they will most probably be when they grow up.

The person who's been consistently there during my formative years was my father. My dad is my greatest influence (and that's also true to my siblings). He died when I was 13 years old. But my memory about him is crystal clear up to now. We adore him. My mom would sometimes get unreasonably jealous because we're (my siblings) all praises about him while she was seemingly unnappreciated. But of course that's not true... (I have a quite vague memory about my mom when I was young. She must have skipped out that phase in my life. I just woke up one day already a grown up suddenly with my mom beside me, not as my mother but more as my friend. Mommy got married at a very young age of 18. Daddy was more than a decade older than her. While we were growing up, my mother was still a growing child herself. Maybe we were a little too much to handle for her then. So, she would always pass on the disciplining to my dad.)

Daddy was VERY strict. A disciplinarian.. and sometimes to a fault. We were like scaredy cats when he's angry. He spanks REAL hard. We must have prayed so hard for God to save our butts! Oh, he's no way an ideal father. But then we adore him very much. We're all praises about him. Sometimes I would wonder why when he had many resentful ways. I'm not sure but I think I know one reason why. Parents tend to appear invincible before their children to admire. Give their children a false impression that they're an ideal parent (or person). Then we feel kind of betrayed when we realize one day that they're just full of imperfections.. It wasn't like that with my dad. We've seen in him the bad and ugly. The good and the beautiful. All the human frailties in him! So, that made us compassionate about his imperfections, instead. And made us admire him at the same time.

Daddy is the greatest influence of my life. I have acquired his ways. I have grown to be much like him.

6 comments:

Tani said...

I looked up to my dad til I was 14. He was the greatest person on earth for me. When i was old enough to know better, I saw a not-so-good side of him which made me realize he's only human after all... We have childhood memories that are seen through rose-tinted glasses. We oftentimes confuse them with reality.

LOREN said...

tani---
so true. but when we grow up and we know enough we realize that our parents that we put in a pedestal aren't as perfect after all

misty said...

Hi Lauren, This is an inspiring post... I never realized how great my father was until he died.. Wish I could turn back time. But with his strict discipline, it helped me achieved things and put me to where I am now.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Thanks for sharing all these, I have known you a little bit..

LOREN said...

Misty--
Hi Misty! I feel the same way. Wish he lived a little longer. Then he could have seen us grew up as good person and almost just like him. All because of his strict discipline.

LOREN said...

chubskulit---
Hi !! Thank you for visiting my blog.