Today is a milestone birthday for my father-in-law. He turned 75! We ushered in this momentous day by throwing him a surprise party over the weekend. Over two weeks of preparations and loads of excuses, all diverting his attention, we managed to pull this one off. Needless to say his expressions were priceless. Let me introduce you to the man I have come to call and love as Daddy.
Baptized as Joseph, he is the epitome of everything a man should be. Going acrostically, here is the list of things that make Joe as he is fondly called.
J stands for being Just. He believes in being equal at all times, whatever the situation might be. Hence on every birthday, either mine or my husband’s and our anniversary, our daughter gets a gift without fail.
O because he is so Organized. 11 years back, my husband casually mentioned to him he was contemplating marriage and within half an hour, the venue, the caterer, the photographer and the compere were booked. Poor husband could not manage to wriggle out of that one and is still suffering.
S is for the Simpleton that he is at heart. He actually bought the story that his son won an award for excellence and hence he was invited to see him receive the same. In reality, the most excellent thing his son has ever done is marry me! He also believed that we were working on the arrangements for the lunch on Sunday which was not happening. All in all, he really has a pure heart for devils like us, whose horns aren’t there just for the decoration.
E is to state how Economical he is– Believe it or not, he convinced Mom to marry him by throwing peanuts at her, practically every day whilst she went to college. Mom said yes, she thought at least she would get to eat the peanuts. Imagine, raising an entire Clan of three sons and 5 grandchildren on the foundation of Peanuts. Sheer Genius!
P is for all the Positivity he brings about – Dad always emits positive vibration, especially when he goes to the fish market! The fisher folk up the price by 200 when they see him; he brings down the price by Rs 50. Both are happy, sheer win-win situation.
H is for the Holistic approach he has towards life. He believes in the body, mind and soul being thoroughly nourished. For the soul, he goes to church regularly, for peace of mind he has periodic health checkups and for the body he has a regular supply of chocolate. In fact he let out his secret the other day, his young; wrinkle free skin is because of a daily dose chocolates and ice creams, as proven by some scientific research in Utah! So all those of you who think Botox might be the answer to all your gravitational issues, think Cadburys, Kit Kats, snickers and Mars to be precise.
As a daughter, my dad was always the No 1 man in my life. I am truly blessed to have found a father in Daddy as well. If every daughter were to get in laws like mine, I think there would be no gender bias to begin with.
Daddy on your 75th birthday, I wish you all the peace and joy that you deserve. More than we can give, we have received from you. Someday, we hope to be the kind of parents that we’ve been lucky to have. Like I always say, anyone can be a father…….it takes someone special to be a Daddy. Love you, always.
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