By Francis Quamina Farrier

“MY daddy is the greatest daddy in the whole wide world…My daddy is strong and he loves me very much…He does everything to make me happy, and so I love him very much, too…When my mommy was killed in the traffic crash, my daddy almost died of grief, but when he spoke at her funeral, he said that although he also wanted to die, he preferred to live and take care of his little princess…me, his princess! Although he was heartbroken when mommy died, he slowly became stronger and stronger every day because, as he said, he wanted to be there for me, and to make me happy as best he could.

It’s five years since my mommy died and my daddy has no other lady in his life. Well, that’s not accurate, because when his friends tease him about being without a woman in his life, he always tells them that I am the lady in his life; the only lady, although I’m only 11 years old. Daddy has many friends, but he does not go out often drinking and leave me all alone at home. The only time he goes out with his friends to take a little “tups”, as he would say, is when he takes me to my Auntie Rose for “lady talk”, as he calls it.

Auntie Rose is my mother’s older sister and she gives me good information and advice about how my body is developing, and I am excited about how pretty I am when I look at myself in the mirror, or when I look at photographs of myself. I’m so beautiful and blessed and even though my mommy was taken away from me by that drunken driver in that tragic traffic crash, I am so blessed to have such a great daddy.

My daddy says that I’m becoming a young lady and I should know how to behave as a good respectable young lady should behave; especially with boys. Some of his friends tell him that this is a modern world and that he should let me do whatever I want. He would get real mad and tell them that it would be irresponsible of him and that he wants to be a good father to his princess. I feel so nice when Daddy says such things.

So we went to church on Father’s Day in the past years after mommy died and we heard pastor speaking only about the bad fathers, I was not happy because I know that my daddy is a good father and that Father’s Day is supposed to be about the good fathers, not about the bad fathers. I was hurt that pastor did not say one word about my daddy and how much he is doing to make me happy, and I wanted to cry. The pastor was talking only about the absentee fathers and not about the fathers like my daddy who is always there for me all the time.

There were other good fathers in church on Father’s Day and they were not praised or thanked for being good fathers and I didn’t think that is right. Every morning when daddy takes me to school, I see many other fathers also taking their children to school and they return and take them home in the afternoon just like my daddy does, and I feel that the pastor should speak about that because Father’s Day is about the good fathers, not about the bad fathers. Why did Pastor talk about absentee fathers when there are so many responsible fathers in church on Father’s Day? I feel that is wrong.

So I spoke to my daddy about it, but he said that people prefer to talk about the bad things in life and not about the good things and that I should not worry. He sounded so sad when he said that and I wanted to cry when I saw tears settling in his eyes. When daddy saw me with tears settling in my eyes too, he got the kleenex and dried my tears. Then I took some of the kleenex and dried his tears and we decided there and then to go and talk to the pastor about how we feel; that Father’s Day should be a happy day for all the good fathers. Father’s Day is just one day in the whole year and it is the day to celebrate the good fathers like my daddy.

My daddy said that I should do the talking when we go to see pastor, because he didn’t want to sound as though he was promoting his own goodness. I laughed when he said that because that is so true about him. He never likes to boast. That night I had a dream. It was about mommy. She came and hugged me and told me that I should speak firmly to the pastor, but that I must not be rude. My mommy always taught me to be respectful to my elders and to take their good advice.

Pastor listened very carefully to what I had to say and daddy was very proud of me. Pastor told daddy that he was doing a great job of raising me as a single parent and that he was proud of both of us. I knew that mommy was also proud of daddy and me. And so last year on Father’s Day, pastor spoke about many of the good fathers he knew. He spoke of those who had bad bosses but had to put up with unfair treatment and even abuse in the workplace because they knew that they needed the job to provide for their children.

The congregation stood up and clapped for the pastor when he finished speaking. The same thing happened today; Father’s Day 2018. Everybody in church was jumping and clapping and singing for the many good fathers Guyana is blessed with. Daddy was also jumping and clapping and singing. He was also crying but his tears were tears of joy, so I didn’t wipe them away.

God bless all the good fathers in Guyana. God bless Guyana’s First Father, President David Granger, who is also Guyana’s First Grandpa. God especially bless my daddy because he is the greatest father in the whole wide world.”
Happy Father’s Day!