Last Father’s Day, I was anxious on how should I be spending
the day extra special. As single mother who personally know a handful of Pinoys
who had been irresponsible to their respective families, I wondered if there
are still men who should be righteously called as ‘fathers’ as opposed to those
who should merely be regarded as ‘sperm donors.’
The thought popped in my head one Saturday I was teaching
technical writing at a certain college. For the ‘outlining exercise’ I required
my students to write about the ‘father’s day.’ I saw some faces smirk which I pretended
to ignore. A few minutes after, questions on the English translation for
certain Tagalog words hit the airwaves– for abandonment, betting game addicts,
drunkards, hot tempered, irresponsible, and many more. Inside my head, I was
screaming, “What’s happening?”
Father’s Day is there, supposedly, for the children to honor
their dads at least once every year. But instead of excitement, majority of my
students seemed to be apathetic to the capitalists’ strong reinforcement of the
bandwagon.
I also noticed that there were posts on social media
honoring single moms on father’s day because they also play paternal role in
the absence of their partners. I, too, received greetings from my close friends
‘saluting’ me for my current state. Their greetings made me feel empowered and
proud.
I capped the day by joining my sister in treating her hubby
in a restaurant. It was a long and tiring, but amusing day for me.
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