My Father

A series of events has led me to miss my father so much. My father means so much to me. He is like a home I once knew; a place where I can find acceptance, understanding, affirmation, and love. A place where I am good enough just being myself.

I guess it's a kind of place that everybody longs for.

About 2 weeks ago, I watched "The Lost City", which has a scene where the father bids farewell to his son, who is leaving Cuba for good. It was a very simple scene: the father hugs the son and says "God bless you". It reminds me of my farewell with my dad 10 years ago, August 1996, at the Jakarta airport. He just hugged me and said "God bless you". The same hug and blessing he gave me on my wedding day, where again he simply hugged me and said "God bless you."

What greater wish can a father tell his son than "God bless you"? Whatever happens to you, may God bless you, keep you from danger, because you are my son.

Here's what my father said to me in a text message on my last birthday:
"Tuhan berkati kesehatan/keselamatan/study & pekerjaan kamu selalu, kau adalah kebanggaanku. Tak habis2nya terima kasihku pada Tuhan."

Today, I just watched "Elizabethtown", where a guy just lost his father to a heart attack. Just the thought of losing my father one day is unbearable. I guess it will be a day where I thank God for giving me a loving father, and a day where I will mourn a great loss.

I miss my father...