For Father's Day, the Daddy Matters Group posted a writing challenge for us to imagine what our kids might really say to us if they were to write a letter to their father.
Given that this journal is written mostly from the point of view of the boys, it is refreshing to imagine what they will write to their Daddy on Father's Day. After all Daddy had been writing letters to them via Letters to sons . It is about time they respond.
This is what I imagine they might say.
Dearest Dad
Surprise!
Father's day is just around the corner and we decide to write a letter to you to wish you a Happy Father's Day. You might be wondering how we grew up so fast and started writing letters. The truth is we have a ghost writer that pens out our thoughts.
It has been more than six years since you have become a daddy. Six years onwards and you have 2 handsome boys chasing you around the house. We love being the little bosses of the house although we know Daddy is still the 'Man of da house.'
Like typical Singaporeans, we would like to start with complaints. You may have done a good job so far as a Daddy, but good is simply not good enough in our world.We would like to hereby list the things we hope you can improve as a Daddy.
Yes Dad, play with us.... Not just be there with us. We know you may be tired after a long day of work together with the lack of sleep, as a result of waking in the middle of the night to update this journal. We are your precious, so you better drink up the coffee and keep awake to play with us, regardless your state of mind. we would like to add...All day and all night!
Daddy , you have a very loud and sometimes scary voice. If we do misbehave once in a while, please remember we are still little innocent boys trying to have some fun. When we do fight, do know that it is natural that brothers love to fight. This fact has been well documented since the early days ( remember Cain and Abel ? ) We know our limits ( we think) and would only fight if there is nothing else to do . That brings us to point number 1 . Play with us often and we will fight less.So save your breath, watch the heart. We don't want you to go through a coronary attack under the cover of 'educating ' us.
Dad in case you forgot your maths, you are a good 3 decades and more older than us. It is quite weird to see you go goo goo ga ga. We think your sense of humour needs some fine tuning too. It is not funny to be tease by you. Act your age Dad.
Daddy , when you scold us, please be fair and differentiate between who started the fight and who is the innocent party. Many times when we ask you to be the judge, we expect you to rule in our individual request. We do not care if either of us is in the wrong. The rule is who complain first is always right. Remember that dear father.
Daddy our toys are insufficient. If you buy more toys, we would spend less time fighting amongst us. The catch is , you must buy exactly the same toy twice. One for each of us so we would not fight over the same toy. By the way, did we tell you we really enjoyed the
playmobils at Sentosa? If you insist on getting us that for Christmas ( only if you insist to make your boys happy, Dad) , don't forget to get 2 sets of whatever you intend to buy.
Daddy, after you reflect on your flaws, you would be please to know we think you have your good qualities as well. Here is a list of the things we like.
One thing for sure, while we may complain our toys are insufficient, you always make it a point to get the things we like. Even if our attention span record is all but a good 30 minutes, you would still try to find the toy we desired. So thanks Daddy for all the LEGO,Marvel, Dc toys together with all the Xbox games. We know you are secretly enjoying the toys too Dad!
We hate to admit this , but so far you have been fair in more ways than one. Showering us with equal love and trying to spend equal time with us. It is still debatable that you are a good judge in settling disputes, but at least we know you are working on it.
Actually Daddy, can we tell you a secret? We enjoy your goofy moments with you. Swinging us around like superman, practising martial arts with us, going go go gaa gaa and just acting like a kid. During those moments, you became one of us. We prefer this to the authoritative father figure that sometimes frighten the wits out of us.
- Bringing us out whenever you could
Daddy, as we grow older, we understand why you are keeping late nights to update the journal. We know that you have been hard at work at documenting our experiences as well as looking out for activities to do with us. For the record, we have no complains about the weekend activities as we get to experience a variety of events and activities. Ok, sometime we may get a little grouchy here and there, as it may get a little overwhelming. Nevertheless it beats staying at home and letting you indulge in your gadgets. At least we have your full attention on us during outdoor activities. For that we are glad you choose to spend the weekend with us, especially when it means sacrificing your afternoon siesta for it.
We love the moments you spend playing with us. To tell you the truth, it is not the games you play, but the fact you are playing with us. We just love sharing the moments and making memories with you. In fact we love sharing every experiences with you, be it playing, reading a book or snuggling up on bed for tv time.
By now Daddy, you might realise that this letter is fictitious and a vivid figment of your imagination. For our age we can only write so much. To see what we could actually write, perhaps the above is an example (written after a scolding from you no less)
One day we would probably be able to sum up our feelings in a letter written on our own. As much as you want to see us grow up, we are almost certain you would want the arrival of that day to take its time. We are sure you would want to cherish the present moments with us for as long as you can. After all you are still number 2 ( after Mommy ) in our lives and it is an important position till our girlfriends and mates come along in 10 years time.
And least we forget, we like to wish you an early
Happy Father's Day!
With love
Charles and Louis
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