I look into your adorable sleeping face
You stirred and sighed
I hate to leave you in the middle of the night
But that is what I need to do to provide
You don’t know how much I want to rouse you from your sleep
You don’t know how much I want to be there when you wake
I picked up my bags
And I kiss you goodbye
As I gently tiptoe away tonight
Carrying a heavy burden on my shoulders
Heavy as a rock, heavy as a boulder
Off to the airport off to another work trip
For this family for you
So peacefully you can sleep
In the loving arms of your mother
Slowly out of the nursery I creep
They say absence made the heart grow fonder
I rather my presence made you grow to love me more
But I can’t be greedy, can’t ask for anymore
For you my child, are more than I ever had
My child is 18 months old toddler who doesn’t get to see her daddy as much as he would like. His job involves heavy traveling sometimes thrice in a week. Each moment are fleeting, snatched but precious. I can only imagine his heartbreak each time he has to leave her when I can’t even bear to leave her alone for 10mins.
Still, I count my blessings as I know there are fathers (and mothers) out there who have to tear themselves away from their loved ones to go to another country to work in order to feed the family back home. Only to fly back to visit once a year if finance allows. Their pain and heartache can never compare to ours. I have met a lot of folks who need to separate themselves from their loved ones.
One instance where I was chatting with my manicurist the other day. She’s from China, came all the way to Malaysia to find work. Her husband (also from China) is in Singapore working as a contractor. Meanwhile, their two months old baby is back in China with her parents. Her face displayed pride and joy when she shows me photos of her newborn on her phone. The only thing that keeps her and her husband going is knowing that they are saving up for their child’s future. So that their child can get a better education thus increasing his chance for a better future.
Comparing to me being the only parent to my little one most of the time, our anguish is nothing to the many parents out there who has to sacrifice being with their loved ones in order to make a decent living. So I’m very blessed and fortunate to have such a hardworking partner and soulmate to see what he can, for the future of our baby girl. The heavy burden that his family’s needs are on his shoulder, the awful constant traveling and the hotel beds that he spent almost every night in, he never once grumble it is too much for him.
With this post, I dedicated to him and the millions (if not, trillions) fathers in the world who love their children, strive to give them the best environment to grow up in and who silently suffers heartaches for their children.
Happy Father’s Day!
And of course, giving me enough sleep so I don’t walk into another glass door.
For more heartfelt posts to get to know me better, you can dive into these:
5 Surprising Things We Take For Granted In Singapore (I never knew until I live overseas)
Feeling Disappointed At Singapore’s Legal System – An Innocent Child’s Life Is At Stake
Overcoming my Fear of Traveling Solo
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LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/kallytay
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MiddleMe 
Simply lovely, a fathers love is a building block to a creative life.
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Thank you, Sara!
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Ohh …Heartfelt..Tears came into my eyes while reading it…Very true indeed
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Big hugs. Thank you so much.
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|😃😃
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Very beautiful words Kally, you are lucky to have a good husband who takes the responsibility to provide for you and your daughter. My Father travelled a lot and worked away from home to provide for us. I hardly saw him. Then we see the Chinese couple, the sacrifice they have made in leaving their baby behind to provide as best they can. I met a Philipina where I live now worked as a maid and she left 5 children one was a baby to come and work here to provide for her family, sad she was their only hope. People do not realise the sacrifices many are prepared to do just to survive or have a better life.
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Thank you so much. Yes, I’m very fortunate that we are here together as a family. We don’t take that for granted.
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very lovely:)
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Thanks! I’m glad you love it.
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Awww that’s so sweet!
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Thank you!! 😘
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This is so beautiful n so true , it’s the same with me n my dad especially after his recent promotion he is working 12 hours a day.
I am going to share this with him ,it will surely make him Happy
Thanks for writing something like this wonderful !
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Thank you, Aidwarya! I truly hope your dad will love this. I written this with my most heartfelt feelings over 2 days. We always celebrate motherhood and always forgot that fathers need some loving too!
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Wonderful words.
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Thank you and welcome to MiddleMe!
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Excellent & thought provoking! but that’s the way of life ! 👍
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That’s true. It is always so hard for me to see family tore apart when they should be together.
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Beautiful words. Today the time dedicated to work is too much, all over the world. But children feel to be loved, and this is what matters
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Thank you, Paola. Yes, at the end of the day, those children who are cherished and loved are the most fortunate ones.
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lovely poem
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Thank you so much and welcome to MiddleMe.
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I miss my father terribly!
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Big hugs.
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Thank you my friend.
I just added YOU and YOURS to my daily pray for list.
I had frequent, but not constant travel when I was still working. I Do know the pain and the strain this puts on a relationship. My work helped ME to truly appreciate the Mother “left holding the bag.” My sacrifices were nothing compared to mom’s. Still a dads role in marriage is irreplaceable.
Have a happy and BLESSED Fathers day dad’s!
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Thank you, Patrick for the special prayer. A lot of attention has been given to Mothers and I thought it is nice to throw some spotlight to the Fathers as well. I think both mothers and fathers are equally important in a family unit. So no matter who gives what more, as long as they made sacrifices and provisions for their children, they deserves all the good things in the world.
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Beautiful post and thank you writing. I can so relate to it
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And thank you for your wonderful comment.
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My pleasure always
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A very lovely way to thank the fathers all around the world❤️ It’s not easy to work outside when you keep worrying about your children…. Very nice post! I wish your children a wonderful future ahead with such beautiful parents🖤❤️
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Thank you so much, Rageshree! You have a beautiful name. And welcome to MiddleMe.
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Thanks💜 My pleasure:)
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So lovely thank you
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Thank you, pink!
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