When I was little, I only saw my father as a man of few words, always busy with his work. Early in the morning, when the sun had not yet appeared in the bamboo grove at the village entrance, the children were still sleeping in their warm cotton blankets, my father had already woken up to prepare for a new day. Late in the afternoon, when the sun was about to set, my father returned with a dark face and a tired look, his shoulders heavy, but I never heard him complain. On the contrary, when he saw me and my two younger siblings running out to greet him, a smile always appeared on his lips and he said: "Dad is not tired".
Dad did all kinds of work from farming, construction work, wrapping banh chung for mom to sell to others... But he never complained about being tired, as long as there was a bunch of fish, shrimp, and prawns on the dinner tray, mom's smile on her lips, and the children's exclamations of praise for the deliciousness of this dish mom cooked, or the dish mom made tomorrow, dad was happy all day.
Remembering those days, we brothers and sisters did not understand all the hardships of our parents, and even less understood the worries that seemed to be engraved deeper on our parents’ faces and eyes as we grew up, paying for school fees, living expenses, medicine expenses… We just innocently accepted the love that our parents gave us. I still remember, there was a time when our family had meat on the dinner table. That was also one of the rare meals with meat for the whole family. However, my father gave it all to us three brothers and said he did not like meat because it was tough and stuck to our teeth. We happily ate all the portion that my father gave us without asking again.
Once, my father was hospitalized for a long time due to a relapse of his mental illness. That night, my mother took me to the hospital to look after my father so that she could go home and take care of my younger siblings. But instead of watching my father sleep, I fell asleep before him. Even though he was sick, my father still held a fan and blew cool breezes to lull me to sleep. Early the next morning, through the doctor's questions, I learned that my father was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep last night, and endured it alone so that I could sleep soundly. At that time, I felt the corners of my eyes sting, but my father still smiled, although it was a bit crooked and forced...
Later, when I was confident enough to step into life, traveling across the lands of the North and the South, I realized and understood the hardships and difficulties of my father when he carried the whole family on his thin shoulders. My father gave us wings to fly high and far with knowledge: "So that later on, our lives will not be as difficult as our parents'." My father carried my dreams, my mother's worries... And then I understood that my father was extraordinary. That extraordinaryness came from the love and sacrifice he wanted to give to his family, to the people he loved more than himself.
And now, my father's hair has more silver strands, his shoulders are more sunken because of the wind and the weather, his steps are no longer as quick and steady as before, but instead his steps are somewhat wobbly... I just realized that my father is no longer young... But he always smiles brightly and says: "Don't worry, I'm here!" Just that sentence alone gives me the strength to continue. And I believe that, no matter what difficulties there are, my father will always be by my side.
Hello love, season 4, theme "Father" officially launched from December 27, 2024 on four types of press and digital infrastructure of Dong Nai Newspaper and Radio and Television, promising to bring to the public the wonderful values of sacred and noble fatherly love.
Please send to Dong Nai Newspaper, Radio and Television your touching stories about Father by writing articles, writing feelings, poems, essays, video clips, songs (with recordings),... via email [email protected], Electronic Newspaper and Digital Content Department, Dong Nai Newspaper, Radio and Television, No. 81, Dong Khoi, Tam Hiep Ward, Dong Nai Province, phone number: 0909.132.761. The time to receive articles is from now until August 30, 2025.
Quality articles will be published, paid royalties, and rewarded at the end of the topic with 1 special prize and 10 excellent prizes.
Let's continue writing the story about Father with "Hello Love" season 4, so that stories about Father can spread and touch everyone's hearts!
Nguyen Duc Quan
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/van-hoa/chao-nhe-yeu-thuong/202507/ung-lo-co-cha-o-day-roi-e670d5b/
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