I wrote a post on things my mom taught me as a tribute for my mom on Mother’s Day last month. So it is only fair that I write another piece for my dad or ‘papa’ as I call him.

My relationship with my dad is not conventional. We are more like friends than we are father-daughter. Growing up, he has never lectured me, or told me what is right or wrong, or told me what to do, ever. Instead he uses sarcasm, jokes, and casual chats to let me know what is in his mind. And it is always up to me to decide whether I want to do certain things his way. He respects my decisions every time; he has never been mad or scolded me when I made a mistake.

I learnt a lot from him through his actions, his work, and watching how he interacts with others. So here are things my dad taught me:

Be filial to my parents. 

Although dad was adopted when he was almost 4 years old, he treated my grandparents with utmost respect and took care of them till the day they passed away. I learnt this by example. So will my children.

Reunion dinner is important as a family.

Dad wasn’t around much when we were growing up. Partially because he was working very hard to provide for us. He was also very young and he deserves to have his own social live. I never blamed him for this. But he has never missed having the once a year reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve with us. He used to spend a whole day preparing the dinner for just for us.

Try, try and try again. Never give up on myself.

After years of hard work and many failures, my dad did not give up, not even once. He remained optimistic every time something knocked him down. He is semi-retired and traveled around the world by the age of 50.

Always remember those who helped you.

At his 50th birthday dinner, guess who was in attendance? His primary school teacher. He has a mentor that guided him towards his success today. Every time my dad receive an award or being asked how he made it, he never failed to mention this mentor of his.

Education is overrated. 

He is not the regular dad who pushes his children only towards excellence in education. He made me asked myself if that prestigious expensive degree was really worth it. To my dad, one’s attitude is more important than paper qualification.

Be thankful and give credits where credit is due.

My dad has a big sales team working for him. As a team, they always achieve their group sales target, so dad is always awarded with incentive trips overseas. Once, he traded in his trip to Spain and took his whole team for a retreat in Chiang Mai.

If you want something, ask for it.

Enough said.
    Happy Father’s Day, Papa!

    My papa and I on my wedding day, just before he walked me down the aisle.