The Father Effect
Maria Arlen Tacorda Rodolfo
The more one gets into the complexity of life, one is lucky enough to find there the basics. As the
special day for the pillars of every home is celebrated, lest she forget hers and hold him forever dear
in her heart.
She remembers...his curly grayish white hair, his dark deep set eyes and his long bridged nose.
She remembers...how he stands tall with his brown leather bag, aviator sunglasses and that special
goodbye wave using only his index finger before going to work.
She remembers...how keen he was with his polo and trousers. He even taught her how to properly
iron the pleats of her high school uniform.
She remembers...the lullaby, a song he just made up that genuinely sounds love.
She remembers...how good he was at cooking but at the same time how incredibly the kitchen can
turn into a mess because he can use up all available ingredients and utensils there is to be found.
She remembers...how worried he was whenever she gets home from school late.
She remembers...his alcohol and cigarette brands. How still and quiet he is and how drunk and silly he
can be.
She remembers...how good he was with art and architecture.
She remembers...how he was a good friend, brother, uncle, husband and most of all a father.
She remembers...more than what can be written about him.
She only got sixteen years of him but that short span of years brought an immense impact in her life.
She was grateful of course! how could not she be? It was those years that made her foundation. But
life sometimes gives you a bitter pill to swallow. When life seems so perfect, suddenly it crumbles. It
was those happy memories during childhood that pulled her through the rough times.
She remembers...how a part of her died when the doctors said he wouldn't be around for long. From
that she was able to put on a new perspective in life. She learned that whatever it is you're going
through right now, someone out there is willing to trade places with you if that means adding up even
one more day in the life of their loved ones.
Because she still remembers...how he fought and that it still breaks her.
She remembers...how her mother also fought her own battles harder beyond that sixteen years. How
she holds the family together for him.
Now she's grown and as she is trying to build her own family and home, she can't help but remember.
She could have asked him to draw her a house from his perspective. Life may have its twists and turns.
But she knows that her life could not have been better than all these beautiful memories. For early
on, she has learned the basics. They have shown her what really matters. Family. He could have been
the happiest had he met his first grandson. She even named the little one after him! A part of her is
him. And whatever beauty she holds for art is him.
To every man of the house-You are seen. You are celebrated. You are remembered. You are loved.