Happy Birthday Daddy!

My dad is really not the easiest person to deal with. His expectations are always very high, and it’s not very difficult to displease or disappoint him. He’s not easy to win over with words, actions have to take their place and that is something I respect him a lot for. As Abdu’l-Bahá says, “A man who does great good, and talks not of it, is on the way to perfection. The man who has accomplished a small good and magnifies it in his speech is worth very little”

Apart from that, and I think this is normal for teenagers, I have always had a lot of difficulty to listen to his advice in the past. Moving away from home has taught me better, though I must admit I don’t miss the endless lectures- no offence daddy ;) But the distance has made me realize that even though I don’t like it much, most of the things he had always told me turned out to be true. I know he isn’t fond of getting older, something I tease him a lot about, but I believe he should know that it’s his experience that I have profited from and what he has taught me always had an influence on me, even if I didn’t act out on it most of the time and didn’t believe, that it would influence me in any way.

My best childhood memories are definitely my dad’s games with me and Anisa. From “Children come down to play” (a game inspired by Chitti chitti bang bang, where my dad played a seriously disturbed kidnapper we had to runaway from) or “Sarpai game” (my dad’s way of getting girls to play rugby with him) to “Sock fight” (using socks as balls, throwing them at each other for hours, from opposite beds) and the list goes on and on. What patience my dad had and what energy: Coming home from work to three women, all chatting his ears off and then playing with me and my sister nearly every day!

What I value most of all about my dad is, that there is no compromise in the way he loves his family. He always wants the best, and not just the normal best, but the very best for us.

I know it was extremely difficult for him to let me leave. Apart from the whole financial aspect, he misses me a lot (well, obviously:-P) and he knew I would have a difficult time, learning to be independent, being alone all the time and having to stand on my own feet. I do realize that letting me go and supporting me, isn’t something he did because he thought it was the right thing to do or liked the idea. He let me go because it was what I wanted and what I thought would make me happy. It was the university I wanted to go to, the city I wanted to move to and the apartment I wanted to live in. He put my opinion before his, he let me decide what to do and supported me every step of the way, even though it wasn’t his plan at all. I hope I make him proud and not let him regret that decision ever.

Well daddy, I hope you have a really good year, eat healthy (not so much salt and fatty stuff!!!) sorry that your present is so immaterial, but as you’ve probably guessed, the money you sent a few days ago ran out yet again. But it’s only 5 more days until the month is over, so don’t worry I have enough food ;)

Love you lots,

The oldest, coolest of your kids :-D

(o and daddy, the weird signs with the :-) for example, they are smileys, you have to tilt your head to the left to get them…)