Happy Fathers Day Pops!

Today is Fathers Day and I called my daddy this morning just as he was groggily waking from his slumber. Like a well-prepared actor he called me sweetheart throughout our conversation, our very short conversation that consisted of him answering yes or no questions. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone.  A few minutes later my momma called me back and said that she had just thought of something. I asked her what that was and as I could her her voice thicken and tears welling up, she said "You know, out of everyone in our family, your sister, nieces and nephew, me, your tia, you're the only one who has had a dad, a real dad". My momma doesn't cry often and I could tell she was way out of her comfort zone, so she said her piece and abruptly said "I love you, bye" and before I could respond, I heard the dial tone.
She was right and though my father no longer knows me of today, somewhere deep in his mind, the second he hears my voice, he realizes that his 'sunshine', his sweetheart is there. I thought about this as I went to my last day of Yoga Teacher Training, the day of our graduation. I knew that it would be an emotional day, so I guess my mom prepared me by loosening up the tear ducts. As I sat with those words from my mother, I thought of the tragedy once again.  The world has lost a great man. If my dad was well and of sound mind today, he would be a rock star of a yoga teacher. He was always physically active, my whole childhood, we would either go see him play volleyball, basketball, softball or baseball.  He loved to teach and even adopted Cathy, one of my first friends in El Paso, to play volleyball and taught her everything he knew. He was so proud of her and her talents just as much as he was of me in gymnastics. That's the kind of generous man he was.  My dad was always the teams' favorite guy, so energetic and such a team player, he loved people as much as I do, believing everyone had a special gift to bring to the planet. He was always so fair and all-encompassing and no matter how crummy a player you were, he always tried to make you feel like the MVP. Life was always fun when my dad was around, get-togethers were livelier, his workplace more tolerable, the games more equitable and our home was always a dance party. He told me about going to college on a wrestling scholarship in Missouri and how he was the only dark-skinned dude on the team. For a Puerto-Rican/Filipino man to move to middle-America in the 1960's to join a college team and fit in so beautifully was a testament to his charisma and dynamism. He was so popular in fact, he was rushed by multiple fraternities who wanted a piece of the rock star. They held him highly to say the least.
I guess in looking towards the past and the way things were, it always seems more sunshiny than it may have been, but I'm ok with this nostalgia, for me, my dad was the best daddy in the world.
So today is a special day for me in so many ways. A year ago today, I left Santiago for Paris after completing a 500 km trek through the Camino de Santiago and had a life-changing transformation. Today I graduated from a program that has completely altered my approach to life and people and has also transformed my spirit. I cried and talked about my feelings and experience, completely disarmed, without apologies and all my yogini sisters accepted me anyway. You ladies are truly perfect creatures. And it's a day I get to pay homage to the man who modeled a zest for life and people that I hope I can carry on throughout my practice, relationships, work, and life. Thanks for all the memories dad, the cheesy jokes, the hard lessons, the dance instructions and for just being the coolest dude in the world. I love you pops.