I would not dare to compare myself to Jesus in any way, shape or form because I would always fall short. But I do have something in common with Him. Jesus had two dads and so do I. And I'm not counting God as one of those dads. No, I'm only counting my earthly dads. Remember that show in the 80s? It was called "My Two Dads" and I always related to it because I have been blessed with two earthly dads.
I know many persons that have a step-father but they never truly consider him a dad. Maybe it was because my step-father entered my life when I was only three years old or most likely because he has always been an amazing father, but I have never considered him my step-dad, he has been my dad as far back as I can remember. I actually recall the day that I started calling him "papi." I was eight years old, living in Spain. At that time, I still called him "Ramon," but none of my friends and neighbors in Madrid knew that he was not my biological father. One day, a neighbor heard me calling him, "Ramon, Ramon!!!" and she assumed that's how children addressed their fathers back in Cuba. She told me, "here in Spain children don't address their fathers by their name, they call them 'papá'." I went to my mom and I asked her, "do you think Ramon will mind if I call him 'papá'?" She told me, "why don't you go ask him yourself." And so I did. And that day I saw tears in his eyes.
My dad was the perfect combination of toughness and kindness. He was very strict with me when I was growing up but I knew that he loved me as if I was his real daughter. He never raised his voice or his hand at me but whenever I did something wrong, he punished me and I knew he meant it. If my punishment was supposed to last one week, he never cut it short. I am the woman that I am today because of that combination of love and strictness. He taught me always to respect, to be kind, to love and to give the best of myself.
Even though I was apart from my biological father for twenty-five years, my dad never allowed me to forget that I had another father. He never tried to replace him. Now that my biological father lives in Miami and I get to spend time with both of them in many celebrations, like Christmas, my dad always makes sure to let me know that he is very happy that I invited my father to be with us.
The past three years have been tough on him as he sees his health fail him. But he is one tough cookie. Rafael, my husband, claims that he has more lives than a cat and must be living now his 12th life at least. And he is right. He has been through more hospitalizations and surgeries than I can recall. Three years ago he almost lost his leg. Last year, he almost lost his life when both lungs collapsed. But thank God, it always stays in "almost." We have been celebrating the last three Christmases as if it may be the last one and thank God, we continue to have him with us. He even got to return to Spain last October, a dream that three years ago we thought it would be impossible. And I wouldn't be the least surprised if he goes back this year. That is my dad, the "energizer bunny," he just keeps going and going.
The relationship that he has with my mom is one to be admired. He simply adores her. I truly believe that he is grabbing on to this life with all his might because he is afraid to leave her alone. During all his hospitalizations, he was more worried about my mom than about himself. I remember one time, after he came out of the anesthesia, a little disoriented, he looked around the room and when he saw my mom, his face just lighted up with the biggest smile. My mom asked him, "what are you so happy about?" And he answered her, "I'm happy because I was afraid that I would never see you again." I thought to myself, "this is better than a romantic movie." When they told us that they may need to cut his leg, his response was, "I'm sorry for your mom." He wasn't worried about losing his leg, he was worried about becoming a burden to my mom. That's what true love is, caring about the one you love more than you care about yourself. And he's had that love for my mom for fifty years.
My relationship with him has always been strong but it has solidified itself in these past years. All those hospitalizations gave us the opportunity to spend quality time together. I learned things about his past that I never knew. It confirmed what I always knew. My dad has a heart of gold and Heaven has a room waiting for him. But he's not ready yet... And in the meantime, we get to enjoy his presence in our lives for a little longer.
God bless you papi and may He continue to give you the strength to carry on.
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