On this Father's day

Predictably, all the BB DPs and FB statuses announced the occasion in one form or the other. Some in honor of the day, some as a subtle warning and yet others in disclaimer mode!

I remembered my dad on this day especially as we sang "Lord for tomorrow and its needs, I do not pray" in church. If I needed any reminding, this did it.

I have some vivid memories of how we spent our evenings at home while I was growing up. There were days we spent in front of the TV watching mexican soaps and Nigerian sitcoms - laughing or wiping off the occasional tear. On the occasions when there was no power, it would seem we had more fun - entertaining ourselves, arguing and singing. My dad came home one of such evenings from church  when there was no power and we all were gathered in the sitting room gisting and eventually singing when my dad insisted on teaching us this song. Insisted because everyone seemed to have a couple of songs they wanted to sing that evening and this 'new' song was not on the list - I think he made us sing all the verses of the song (later we would jest him for the way he pronounced tomorrow as 't-morrow').

So singing this song on Father's day definitely brought a smile to my face and got me thinking 'what do Fathers have to offer these days?'. I'm sorry if that came across as confrontational but it is a heartfelt question. Roles are not as defined as they used to be and I wonder if we are doing enough to adjust our lifestyles to accommodate these changes that have been forced upon us by the times.

My dad and I have a few things in common - he is an enigma. A staunch Igbo man, apologetic but who gave all his plenty plenty daughters the chance/choice of great education early in life. He believes the woman's place is in the home and that the man's place is not far from home either. He does not subscribe to subservience - not in women, not at all - humility is not subservience. He does not talk only intelligent things with 'the boys' and 'kitchen stuff with the girls - maybe it helps that the boys are outnumbered. He tries to be fair and share what he has. He is a great lesson in openness.

Belatedly, on this celebration of Father's day, I join my voice in celebration of the many great Fathers, the many best dads in the world, of whom my Dad is arguably the best and say 'Well doing, well done!'.