I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Mummy’s Girl but that doesn’t mean I don’t like my Dad. He’s a good man and a good father. Not everyone can say the same about their Dad so l guess I’m lucky in that sense. That said, there’re a couple of things I wish I’d done with my Dad and top of the list has to be the Daddy-Daughter Dance. Everytime I see it in the Movies, I wish my Dad and I had our moment too. He’s not a good dancer and neither am I but there’s just something special about being that close and comfortable with your father to share a dance. I’ve seen him dance at family weddings and parties and I remember even at my graduation but it wasn’t just me and him. Which also reminds me that I don’t hug my Dad. He gave me a congratulatory hug when I graduated. It was brief and I’m pretty sure we haven’t hugged since. Which is kind of sad but perhaps not as sad as the two of us having not having had playtime. You know how some Dads play pretend, hide and seek or take their kids to the park, push them on swings or race each other? I didn’t have that. If anything, my Dad didn’t like noise around the house. God help you if he returned from work and you hadn’t done your homework because you were playing with other kids! He wasn’t abusive. Just strict. So strict that I once got a beating for playing with My Mum’s Makeup! I must have been about 5 or 6 and I remember he had travelled for a few days and when he returned from his trip early one evening, I was just happy to see him and ran up to meet him as any kid would. All he saw were the lipstick smudges and my failed attempt to do my eyebrows. I think I also had one of my Mum’s beaded necklaces on. I got a few slaps and I don’t think I “played” with Makeup again till High School and that may even explain why I’m not keen on Makeup to this day! If I were one of those privileged Kids, I would probably be in Therapy because that was traumatic! And you know what else was tragic? My Dad never did my hair. He cut it a couple of times but never braided or plaited it. In his defense, your typical African Dad doesn’t do their daughter’s hair either but that’s probably because they just don’t know how to. Neither do they let their kids paint their nails or play dress up. And I get that. I just wish I was as close to my Dad as I am to my Mum with whom I can talk for hours about anything and nothing, go shopping, gossip and laugh about silly things and yet with Dad, it feels “forced”. Regardless of that, I wish him and all Dads a Happy Fathers’ Day!
