Friday, June 5, 2009

Papa

I woke up this morning at 4 am to my stomach cramping. The birds were beginning their morning chirp. For some reason this morning, the sound of the birds was like music to my ears. I went to sleep at 7:30 last night .. lately that's when fatigue gets the better of me and I either fall asleep on the couch downstairs telling my partner i'm "just napping". Last night, I decided i'm going to bed -- no intermediate step!

At 4:15 this morning I lit the candles in my meditation/writing room and lit the lavendar incense. My rushing mind kept wandering, and with every breath I brought myself back to the present moment and to the quiet, peaceful room. I could feel the presence of Missy and Mister sleeping soundly on the sage LL Bean bed with Ahnung's name printed on it. Every morning they snuggle up next to each other as I engage in my morning routine of meditation and writing. Ahnung chooses to sleep in the living room, on the red couch.

In the quiet and darkness of the early morning, I felt my father's presence so strongly this morning. I know he's always with me. Today, for some reason, the feeling was overwhelming. I could feel the presence, the light, the love and the comfort of my father ... to me, he is "Papa." Every day I wear around my neck a gold necklace with a diamond heart -- a necklace he gave to my mother when they were dating in the late 1950s. My father, from Thailand ... and my mother, from the Philippines ... somehow their paths took them to the other end of the world to the small town of Bloomington, Indiana to attend Indiana University. My father came to work on his Master's of Optometry, and my mother her Master's in Education. It was there that they met, fell in love, got married and traveled back to the other end of the world to raise a family. Little did my mom know that seven years later she would make the long trek back to the United States, with a 7 yr old, 5 yr old and a 4 yr old, in a desperate attempt to save the love of her life as doctors in Thailand told her "he's dying. There is nothing we can do."

I lost my father when I was 4. At the young age of 39 he was abruptly ripped from our lives. One of my strongest memories of him is of how he used to always carry me and how I always felt safe in his arms. There have been times when I have felt like I missed out on not having a father growing up. Most of the times though I feel grateful -- he has always been with me, in my heart and in my spirit. There are days, like today, when he reminds me that he is right with me by filling every cell in my body with the light and love of his presence.

I was his "baby" ... in August I will be turning 45 and I am proud to say, that I am still his "baby" and he is and will always be "papa" to me.

5 comments:

  1. You were a cute little peanut! ;)

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  2. It's always nice to know that our loved ones can still remain close, and I think that knowledge spans the gaps of any beliefs. I take a lot of solace knowing that the ones who are no longer with me in the physical sense are still with me in my memories, and that is "alive" enough for me!

    What a wonderful picture of you and your Papa. You can definitely see the resemblance!

    I hope you are doing well. We just returned from the Lymphomathon today, and I was inspired by how many people turned out (especially on a dreary day like today!).

    Take care!

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  3. Great post! Open invitation to you and your readers to participate in the Being Cancer Book Club. This month we are discussing “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. “...the lecture he gave ... was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.”
    Monday is Book Club day; Tuesday Guest Blog and Friday Cancer News Roundup.
    Also check out Cancer Blog Links containing almost 200 blog links and Cancer Resources with 230 referenced sites, both divided into disease categories.
    Please accept this invitation to join our growing cancer blogging community at www.beingcancer.net
    Take care, Dennis

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  4. Marilou, I loved this post when I stopped by the other day. and have decided to use it tomorrow for my Guest Post with full links to your site. Thanks, Dennis
    www.beingcancer.net

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  5. Dennis ... thank you. I am honored. Thank you also for providing such a wonderful resource with beingcancer.net. As it turns out the first book you will be discussing for your Book Club, The Last Lecture, was a book I just read last week. And you are right ... it is all about living!

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