Alex M. Eduque             By Alex M. Eduque I write this on Father’s Day. For all the fathers. To our Father God who never tires and ceases to father us all. To the father who works the longest days under the blazing sun to earn an extra peso, ignoring the possibility of melanoma and any other repercussions the brutal hours and working conditions can have on his health, all for the sake of his family. To the father who may be a million miles away, or in the middle of the ocean for days on end, but who never fails to provide. To the CEO father who runs a big conglomerate, but still manages to and will always put aside undivided time for his children. To the father who stays at home, and who has become domesticated in place of his wife. To the father who has also become a mother. To the father who has chosen to publicly serve – sacrificing family time many times to share a significant amount of himself with the greater good when duty calls. To the father who may have gone ahead to the next life, but who’s left behind an unparalleled legacy to fuel his family forth. To the father who may have failed as a husband, but whose love for his children knows no end. To the father who so dotingly raises his children; so much so that they have become his world, and only their happiness ever matters. To the father who ingests belching smoke and pollution in the name of making pasada to earn every peso for his family with integrity in order to provide. To the father who spends his days driving around children other than his own to earn the keep for his family. To the father who chooses to save lives every day risking his own safety and compromising uninterrupted family time. To the father who may not have been accepted by the family of his wife, but who is an incomparably amazing dad nonetheless. To the widowed mother who is also now a father. To the father who may be behind bars serving his sentence, but who ended up there because of a crime that may have been provoked by his unparalleled love for his family. To the single father raising his brood. To the teenage dad who was caught by surprise, but whose life will never be the same again. To the father who still does not know he is one, and whose world is about to change. And to the fathers who just choose to father – even kin who are not their own. To my paternal grandfather who I did not have the honor of meeting, but whose name is synonymous with genius in his profession – the many babies he has delivered into this world are now fathers and grandfathers themselves. To my maternal grandfather who may have intimidated many, but who was highly revered, and who only showed me love – you were the quintessential Old-World gentleman who is only read about these days. What an honor it was to be loved by him. To my father, who gives us the greatest gift every day by showing us how much he loves our mother – it is because of you that I wholeheartedly believe in fighting for love, and that I know what love without reservation and hesitation truly means. In choosing to and fearlessly loving mom, you proved many naysayers and pre-conceived notions wrong. And that to me, will always be my standard of fatherhood against all odds. To the fathers, the dads, the papas, daddies, tatays – and the list goes on…. A lot of who we children are today is heavily influenced by you. For the tireless love that only keeps on giving, and for the heart that only keeps on growing – Happy Father’s Day to the man who should be celebrated every day. To the first man who held our hand, and who will always hold our hearts. A great part of us you will always be.