DOUBLE 4

The title of my post today is not a pseudonym of a spy but a representation of my age as of yesterday. I would have liked to celebrate my natal day with rants about anything else but my scholarly daughter Leanne jumped the gun on me when she hastily wrote me a poem she delivered as I woke up on that momentus day, my other daughter May gave me a card with her message, another daughter Joylene drew a sketch of her and me walking. My son Arvic gifted me with tennis racquet built on nanotechnology...and of course my wife gave me things that is of practical use that I would never buy myself...

Well, here's Leanne's poem: (I finally realized how well she writes...)

You were 24
When you first held kuya
In your hard work clipped hands
For the very first time
Two years and two months later
You celebrated your 26th
With mum and two babies at your side
A little boy who just turned one and a toothless baby girl

You turned 28
While mummy was 7 months due
With another XX chromosome human
I could not remember what it really happened
And neither Kuya did
The pictures too, failed to capture it as well
But I bet mum could still recall everything

You blew your 31 candles
It was 31 plus 4 days after my youngest sister was conceived
She was this scrawny and a screaming machine
You came home from work or either it was during the weekend
I did not forget that we ate mum’s cake inside our humble house

Five years later, you woke up on your 36th birthday
Mum was still six years younger than you (and still is!)
As the sun rose up in our primitive glass windows
It was three months since the Y2K kicked off
You were 36 with 4 mouths to feed
And another baby on the way..

It was the year 2006
When you were officially 41
It was autumn and the leaves were falling madly
In our new Australian backyard
We were wearing cardigans and the folks from home called
Singing "Happy Birthday" in muffled tones from miles away
Mum was feeding baby Joseph; your first aussie child
And your five children were happily playing badminton outside

I could look up to Google and type March 15
And itll give you millions of results
Millions of March 15’s..
Of both past and present tense
From Caesar’s death to Andrew Jackson
The Word of the Day, The Daily News
And the "This Day in History"
Yet why should I bother?
They are all infinitesimal
They do not matter

All I know is that
Four decades and four years ago
My dad, my hero and my mum’s love
Was brought here from the heavens
and I’m thankful he did
He has not disappointed any of our birthdays
And we will not miss his one as well!
He’s the greatest!

This may sound so childish and silly
Like eating a marshmallow pie
I hope you do like this poem
Though it does not have
Any iambic pentameter
Nor it does not rhyme…
I wish you more years to come
More than the total sum
Of all the numbers here
We wish you blessings
Hundred times over
More than we could ever think of

As your seven children and your wife sing you
Birthday greetings full of love, cheer and happiness
Don’t forget well be always here for you
As you are with us
Throughout the years passed and the years to come
So Happy Birthday Dad!!
From our toes and the tips of our hair
WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!