My father has no equal by Hossam Badrawi

The dreamers of tomorrow Café
My father has no equal
Written
by Hossam Badrawi

Translated by GPT

The dreamers of tomorrow stirred my conscience when they asked me why we don’t celebrate Father’s Day in Egypt as we do Mother’s Day.
A young girl delicately said, “My father is my role model , and without him, I wouldn’t be who I am. What is the story of Father’s Day, doctor?”

I said, : historically, the idea of dedicating a day to honour fathers originated with Sonora Louise Smart Dodd from Michigan in 1909. She wanted to honour her single father who raised her and her six siblings after their mother’s death. She presented a petition recommending the establishment of a day to celebrate fathers, which received the support of various groups. June 19 was designated as Father’s Day in her town, and this tradition spread to the United States and other countries later on.

Every country celebrates Father’s Day on different day, and most Arab countries, including Egypt, celebrate it on June 21st.

The young girl said, “You have talked a lot about your mother, but we haven’t heard you speak about your father. What was he like and how did he influence you?”

I said, “How do we measure a person’s worth in life? This question came to my mind as I remembered my father on Father’s Day after you asked your question. Does mentioning him after his loss bring sadness or joy?”

Do I feel sad for his absence from my sight, mind, and heart? Do I feel sad for missing his wisdom, fairness, and love from my daily life ? Do I feel sad for seeing his smile, feeling his warmth, and care? Do I feel sad for not hearing his voice and getting his distinctive kiss? Do I feel sad for remembering seeing my mother (may Allah have mercy on her) with her wandering eyes, internal fear, and tense beauty when we used to mention him in front of her?

Do I feel sad for all of this, or do I feel the joy happiness and how fortunate we were to have this father, grandfather, great-grandfather around us . Happy for him too and wishing to be the same for my children as he was for me? Happy for a person who enriched every member of his extended family, young and old, sons and daughters, impacted us with his mind, fairness, and wisdom, gave us endlessly and without limits or restraints, brought us together and united us with ourselves, and gave the word “family” meaning, form, and identity.

Happy for him and for us, happy for a man whose entire life was a constant giver with an innovative, free-thinking mind, a man who carried responsibility for everyone around him without hesitation or complaint since he was a child at the age of ten.

Happy for him and for us, he was a father to us whom we are proud of for the love he built in us, and respect for work, for his closeness to Allah without noise or show, for his justice and integrity as if they were the fabric of a life without effort, for his ability to tolerate and forgive others. Oh, I wish I could be like him or be a part of what he represented to us throughout his life.

Do I feel happy or joyful when I remember all the love and respect that surrounded his memory from everyone who worked with him and everyone who met him?
. We saw it in his love for his wife, my mother, and his eyes always looking at her with kindness and tenderness. He would advise us one by one to take care of her, be close to her, and respect her wishes. Each one of us repeats to himself, and to his brother; how can he love her so much? And every woman in the family says to her husband: “I hope you can be like him or even just a part of him in loving me.”
The Lord of the family made every young and old one, man and woman, look up to him as a hope for them, an example and a role model even in the simplest matters of life.

I remember the life of this family in his spaciousness, opening horizons for it, and achieving for it all that he dreamed of, when we are young .He made a character for the family and special status in society that allowed each one of us to launch his personal aspirations from this position ,Gathering this family in pleasure, entertainment, travelling, seeing the world, and openness to it. How many times was for each child and adult place with him, somewhere in the whole world.
A man who made the pursuit of knowledge in this family and the seriousness in acquiring it and prioritising it an integral part of our life. He pushed, without pressure us and our children, with support and backing to believe and succeed. A man who made doing good and his ongoing charity a hidden part in the life of each one of us believing in him… from him, and working for him… with him.
A man who made Saturday every week a holiday that we strive for with an unprecedented amount of love. Every young and old in the family is bound together by a genius, beautiful, visible and hidden way… His place is between us and his seat is in front of us. His vision for us was, and always will be, an unparalleled memory in our lives.
May God keep his memory alive among us and give us the ability to be like him.
My dreamer daughter, he has no equal.
She said: With tears in her eyes, I wish every son and daughter would see their parents with your all-encompassing vision and love.
I said: Every father and every mother for their children has no equal.
So, let’s celebrate them in their lives, and return the favour to them, not only on Mother’s and Father’s Day, but every day of our lives.