You
sheltered me from harm
You
kept me warm, you kept me warm
You
gave my life to me
You
set me free, you set me free
YOU
TAUGHT ME HOW TO LOVE
What
it’s all, what it’s all
YOU
NEVER SAID SO MUCH
but still you showed the way
And
I knew from watching you
I never really understand
the true meaning of the song “Everything I Own” by Bread not until I noticed
the line “you never said so much but still you showed the way”.
I guess this just describes
how we were loved by Tatay. He’s not really the type of father who would always
tell you, “I love you, son”. And I never heard him speak of those words to us.
But his hard work (the literal connotation of that word), is enough to make me
feel how he loved us. He just loved us in his own way – the Renato way.
I cannot imagine where he’d
get the strength to wake up early and to travel almost 16 km every day on his
bicycle. And later spend the rest of the day under the heat of the sun, tilling
and cultivating the land of which we do not own. He earns Php 4,000.00 a month
from that hard work, barely enough to support the education of 4 siblings, all
in college way back then. Out of frustration, some time when he spent the night
in the kubo we’ve built inside the university, I heard him screaming (he was
drunk back then), I cried in silent then knowing that it’s because of the
insufficiency of his earnings.
Now, that we’ve already
finished our respective degrees, I am personally the one who is now feeling
frustrated for I couldn’t still find a way to fund the surgical removal of his
kidney stone. Father had sacrificed so much of his life for us. Although he
never mentions of how much he loves us, the hours he spent under the heat, the
sweat he sweat for almost 10 years to support our studies is enough proof of
his love.
Everyday my heart aches
cause I know the pain he feels on his kidney will go on until we can find the
means to support the surgery.
But I know I have to give everything I own (like what the song says) just to have him stay with us.
I'm praying that God will hear our prayer.
(Additional Note: When I researched on the background of the song, I found out that David Gates wrote it for his father.)
