Jhet’s Father’s Day Tribute
He didn’t finish high school, married at an early age, had twelve children to one wife, and made a house of bamboo and nipa leaves for his home. To feed his family, he drove service vehicles in double or even triple shifts and sold fruits and vegetables on his free time. And yet through all the difficulty and poverty, this man – my father whom I call “tatay”– made sure that his kids will be sent to school and will be able to live a life beyond the poor barrios of the Philippines.
And his dreams for his children came true. What happened next is summed up in my book “The Tale of Juliet – You Have The Power to Change Your Life.” On Father’s day, this book is still the best gift that I can give to him. Although he already has a copy, I want to send my message through this blog post that the story of my life reciprocates the seed of hope that he planted in me years ago.
- Me with my Tatay
“It was my third birthday and my Tatay said he had a surprise for me. I watched with great anticipation as he slowly opened a parcel. He carefully removed the wrapper and to my great delight revealed a brand new book. Books were very hard to come by where I lived, so to receive a brand new book was big deal. What’s more, this book had my name written on the cover! The words written across the front – The Tale of Juliet.
It surprised me more when my father told me that it was not a book. Rather, a book-like coin bank or “alkansya” in our language. It allows you to insert coins in the slot at the top. My earlier disappointment quickly faded away when I fantasized about having that little “alkansya” full of money, and the fact that it was named after me.” – Excerpt from the book The Tale of Juliet.
What my father did on that day was to plant seeds of big dreams in my life. I imagined writing a book about my life. And it came true four decades after. I am forever grateful for what my father has done. Did you know that he convinced a priest to send me to college? Even though he wasn’t able to send me to school by himself – he still found a way to change my destiny.
