Father's Day_15th June

It's obviously undeniable to say that FAMILY stands for Father and Mother I Love You. In the USA, Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated, on the 2nd Sunday of May and on the 3rd Sunday of June respectively, to honor our parents for everything they do for us throughout their life.

The Birthday

There are four types of people who pay attention to your birthday: family, gf/bf, best friends and so-called friends. Let's start from the last one, so-called friend category. Not many of your friends could remember the year you were born, let alone the whole birthday. I can't complain because it's not necessary to them. Some best friends still probably don't know your birthday, but for sure it's good to constantly remind them that your birthday is coming and to prepare the gift in advance. Some of them also do remember and might surprise you with a midnight message just a second after your birthday arrives. How is about gf/bf category, no matter what they seem to know your birthday without being told. They might see it on your student ID, or in your online profile, or ask your friend, or any other ways they don't want to tell you. It takes just once to see and to remember. By family, it's not all about family members who remember your birthday, but there are two persons who never forget your birthday. Of course, they are DAD and MUM. Imagine the joy, the smile, the excitement of seeing their newly-born babies after they have been waiting anxiously for the longest expect-to-be 9 months and 10 days. They are already very happy when they see you through the black and white echography. Knowing that you are a male or female, they spend countless time thinking what the best name you should have, finding the clothes, decorating your room and bed, etc... there are million other things they have done, that you don't know, just for you.

Dad-and-son story:

My dad used to ask me if i wanted to have birthday party. He would make one if i said yes. Instead, i always said "No, i don't want to" because i thought that i am a guy. It's not often that i see a guy holding his birthday party. It has become my belief not to have one myself. In fact, i am not confident enough to ask my friends to my birthday. How shy!

"Tick tick," Early in the morning, my dad knocked my door and handed a light envelope a little bigger than the money size on my table and left without saying anything, and i didn't have a chance to say "Thanks you, dad". I knew already what was going to be inside since it was my birthday. I thought he must have prepared it for me. I gradually opened it. I was right, it was a brand-new $100 bill. It was a big amount of money for me at that time and i could carelessly spend it on a bunch of stuff without realizing the hardship he had borne to earn this much. In the evening, we would rather go out to have a big dinner together. My mum gave me the right to select the menu, which she usually did. It was fun and we did that almost every year except last year and this coming year due to the fact that we are physically apart.

On the contrary, when it came to his birthday, it was ungrateful that i never did anything. Well i could give myself a good excuse that i didn't have any money. But there were countless things i could possibly do without a lot money such as writing him a Birthday postcard, surprising him with a birthday cake, simply calling to wish him "Happy Birthday, dad, I wish you a healthy body", or taking him to a planned dinner after a week of money saving. These are great ways to express our gratitude to him.

The Childhood

There was a time when i was in primary school, i was sightly beaten by a fairly bigger boy than i was. I cried out to my opponent "I would tell my dad when i got home." But as soon as i got home, i forgot it. He did the same thing to me for the next time. The frustration drove my adrenaline level high. I must tell my dad. I remember very clearly what he did when i told him: he got me on his motorcycle to school. I pointed out the bully boy. My dad approached him. He squeezed his collars up and warned, "Don't do that to my son again." Never in life that i felt this protected. That boy swore to god never walk past me again.

It was 3 am. It had been an hour that i stayed restless on my bed. I was having a sever painful stomach-ache combined with diarrhea. I thought It could be a food poisoning or an intestinite. I didn't want to wake my parents up at this hour. The pain was bad; nevertheless, I managed to put up with all the pain until i had to knock my parents' room. My dad gave me a pain-reliever but it was still not effective. Despite there were only a couple hours more till the dawn, he impatiently drove me to a clinic. On our way, i felt better as the pain slowly disappeared. I told him i was OK now. He asked me if i wanted to have some white porridge along boulevard. I agreed. Though my tongue could not taste anything, i emptied the porridge from the bowl with salty eggs. As the sun was raising, he took me to a hospital and had me examined by the doctor. I was diagnosed with គ្រុនពេាះវៀន​ (typhoid). So i had to stay at the hospital until everything was clear. My parents had to stop working to take care of me. My mum was sitting right beside my hospital bed assuring me with comfort and caress. My dad went out for awhile. He came back with a bag of porridge for me. I felt the same way they cared for me when i was 3 years old. They were always there when i needed them. That feeling was great. I was physically not well. But mentally i was so well. I never knew that i liked the hospital bed, and i wish i could stay at the hospital longer.

From my opinion, i don't regret for what i have done. But i regret for what i have not done. Therefore, i am going to do what i can do right now. This song is uniquely dedicated to my dad who has played a role as my raiser, my mentor, my guide, my protector and my role model. I could not be who i am today without him. In fact, there would not be today, nor yesterday, nor tomorrow.