amor vincit omnia

Everybody needs someone to look up to. As for me, I always have Tatay to play that part. At one glance, one can say that I look like my mother. But for those who know my Tatay very well, they would say that I am very much my father's daughter.


Almost every father secretly wished to have a son as their first born child. When I was born maybe my father was somewhat disappointed. Though he was happy when my brother was born, he was sad as well because he was a sickly baby. So he only has me to fulfill that wish. He made a son out of me. Most of my cousins my age were boys. Whenever there is a family get-together, I was always seen playing with them brandishing my own toy gun.


My Tatay is never perfect, but just like most other children I can brag that he is the best father in the whole world. I still adore him even until now that I'm already grown up, and he will always be the apple of my eyes until I breathe my last breath. Someone even commented that I am unconsciously comparing men I am with to my father.


Amor vincit omnia.


I got that line from him. And it has been my all-time favorite since then. Fathers tend to preach sometimes, and I always pretend to do other things whenever he is in that mood. But to be honest, I am intently listening to all his words. All those lessons I have learned from him boils down to one word. Love. And I realized it's true.


His own love story is a living proof of that ancient line. Tatay is a hopeless romantic, but he stubbornly denied of being one. He believes in happy ending and lights sparking in the sky when you kiss the one you love. When he met Nanay, he hesitantly admitted that he felt that magic, that strange feeling with her. Only he refused to recognize it right away. But you see they end up marrying each other no matter how hard he refused.


But there's more to that. Tatay has been playing around. Well, he loved women. And boys were just like that, according to him. He got a tongue lashing from his sisters because of that notorious vice. (For your info, Tatay is the only son in his family and he is kinda spoilt by my Lola.) Nanay left him for a few years. She brought my brother with her and I was left to him. Nanay needed space, he said. That's what he called cool-off. I was too young to understand what's happening back then.


The time we only have ourselves has made me closer to him than ever. I saw him prepare my breakfast and my baon for school. Instructed me to take a bath, accompanied me on my way to school and fetched me from school. He is a cute clown while he tried to make me laugh. I will always treasure those playtimes I had with him. He tried hard to assist me with my assignments. He is good in numbers, but had an awful gut with letters. I can spell and can speak English better than he does.


I don't know how he wooed back my Nanay. But when she's back, a few months later I got a new baby sister. Two years later, another new baby boy. And he's changed a lot since then, we got more family day's and more family outings with my aunts' families. Once again, Tatay proved that truly love conquers all.