An ode to fathers

Growing up, I have always admired my father. It was always his steadiness that I've relied on for safety and his wisdom was the one I listened to throughout my childhood and early 20s. A lot of stories focus heavily on a daughter's relationship with her father when she is young but it is rare that we hear about stories about how their relationships evolve once they leave the house and build lives outside of the family home.

It's safe to say that my relationship with my father has transformed from the moment I decided to pack my bags and move halfway across the world and even more so now that I am a mom. The distance between us gave me the opportunity to really see him as more than my father but as a human who did his best to overcome his own challenges so he can be the best for my brother and I. It may be a cliche but now that I am a parent, I now have a miniscule understanding of how difficult it is to parent another while parenting our own inner child and I know that my dad did the best that he could at any given moment.