Dear Dad!

Dad’s role has evolved from tangible actions of heaving and shoving the pram, changing diapers, warming milk at wee hours of morning, driving miles to ride Thomas, dropping off at school to quieter ones like assisting in tax filing, and assuring steadfastly he has his son’s back. Dad is undeniably the engine that leads and keeps the home on track; he is the powerhouse who can be safely leaned on - nothing can go willy-nilly with him around.

Son, meanwhile, has transmogrified at a rapid pace, like kids do. Those days - extending little arms in supplication, ‘koli, koli’ (read pick me up), beseeching for a ball ‘uck’ (stuck) beneath a couch, rummaging Toys”R”Us shelves to simply grab Thomas (and at least 25 others eventually) with his little palms knowing nothing about check-outs that lightened dad’s pockets, imploring to rush to a nearby store before it dropped its shutters and snagging a Poe Dameron figurine without a hint who he was (Star Wars carved a significant space in our lives much later) - are but cherishable memories only. He is a responsible young man now. Few months shy of his twenties, he is already proffering rent for staying under the same roof, getting weekly groceries as an earnest endeavour to contribute, and footing bills of Father’s Day lunches over the past couple of years. We watch him, wide-eyed, leaping to independence way earlier than we, Gen X, can apprehend. 

As a mum, it has been a pleasure to witness the dad-son camaraderie sprout, grow, and mature. But is that all? Of course not! 

How would two boys twine without mum’s love, care, and carefully chosen coordinated attires?

Here’s a mood board celebrating the special day!

Dona, Sydney, Sep ‘26