Umbrella Dad

Poetry | Self-awareness

As a child, I didn’t like my dad’s stories — but I got wise.

Coolness clueless boy
didn’t see a harbor to dock.
My umbrella dad,
fighting fiercely, when need be,
doting dad a storm life guard.

I struggled with severe asthma as a kid and could not participate in sports activities. I was more interested in creative exploits such as drawing, singing in the choir, and telling stories.

My brothers were 20 years older than me and dad always told family and friends at gatherings how my brothers were fantastic sportsmen. Dad played tennis and was chosen to represent our town’s tennis team in league matches till he was 67 years old.

Young, sensitive, and bullied-at-school-for-being-different me ‘heard’ what was said differently. I interpret things personally and took them to heart. This action contributed to my low self-esteem as a teenager. I took his words as rubbing my non-athletic prowess in my face making a joke at my expense.

In my late teens, I outgrew my asthma. At university, I started to play badminton and was relatively good at it. I played in the second league within a year after starting my badminton sports journey. My dad told his friends of my sports achievements.

This ‘bragging’ put the stories he told about my brothers’ sports achievements into perspective. I helped to raise two twin boys who adopted me as their ‘second’ dad. They were good at sport and I celebrated their achievements as well, which made the coin finally drop in my late twenties.

As a teenager, I thought my dad didn’t love me because I was not like my brothers at all. I even hated him for it — silly me. As an adult, I realized that he did care and loved me.

He told stories on numerous occasions where he bailed me out of awkward and life-threatening situations. I was a curious boy and my curiosity put me into dangerous situations — playing with fire so to speak.

He so many times protected me in life storms, but stubborn me did not see it for what it was. As I matured I learned to not judge people’s words so personally, but try to put them into perspective.

I also learned not to compare myself to others, but only to myself. Learning from my mistakes and trying to be a better all-around human being.

”

Related posts:

The first question for you Easter Rabbit — or Bunny, can I call you Bunny? — is what are your pronouns? E.B. Yeah, well, this is a subject of debate. I am a rabbit, often pictured in a nice little…

Sexual fantasies are sacred. If you share them with someone who does not appreciate them, you may not enjoy them in the future. The rejection attaches itself to the fantasy — in a disturbing way…

Sejak kenaikan Bitcoin di 20 Juli 2021 dari harga USD 29.500 hingga USD 50.500 (sumber : Tradingview.com) 3 hari lalu yang merupakan area resistant. Banyak teman-teman trader dan investor bertanya…