#ViewFromMyWindow – A Father, A Daughter & A Peck On The Cheeks

Sep 5
NabanitaDhar
As a kid, every time my dad dropped me off at school, I would give him a peck on his cheeks before running off to class. It was our thing. I just couldn’t let go off his hands without doing that. From a little girl in pigtails to a college going grown up, I never stopped doing it. And no matter what those sitcoms or teenage dramas I grew up watching showed, I never was embarrassed about it. Never. It was our little ritual and it still is. Even now I cannot see him off without one.
Even now that I’ve become a mother nothing has changed and I know it never will.

Like this, every relationship has subtle traits, tells which make it special and in a very, very unassuming manner speak volumes about it. These are fine things which might seem trifling at first but almost always are worth more. In the form of gestures, innocent kisses or even stolen hugs, these oddities or mannerisms, call what you may make everything better. These subtle underlying quirks, almost always there, make rapports warm and strong. Always.

 

In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that everyone shares something similar with the special people in their lives. Yes, just like the peck on the cheek is what I share with my dad among many other things of course.


As a little girl, I hugged him and kissed his cheeks at the school gates every single day. It was our moment, still is only the school has been replaced by something else. Seeing this once a girl from my class told me that I should stop doing it since I’m a big girl now. Well, at that point in time, I just told her that it was none of her business and that I was sorry she didn’t share a wonderful relationship with her father.

Now that I think about it, I probably didn’t really have to go on the offensive. Not everyone has the same kind of relationship with their parents. For some, it’s more formal and perhaps distant as well but that’s their lookout, not mine. Even though she probably had no business telling me what she did, I should have just let it go because a third person’s view doesn’t matter anyways.
A father-daughter relationship is one of the most precious in the world Share on X

 

But I’m digressing as usual. What I really want to say is when I think about Baba and myself, I recall that time when he surprised me by picking me up from school. How he carried me home as I clung to him smiling all the way back. This is one of my happiest memories, my happy place. It is the same today, years have piled on but deep down I am still that little girl who waits for her dad and expresses her happiness by holding his hands, hugging him and kissing him on his cheeks just above his beard. And I don’t think I’ll change that no matter how old I get.

 

I am still his little girl and it is one of the most beautiful things about my relationship with him.Yes, even now that I’ve become a mother nothing has changed and I know it never will. And I just love that about us.

 

Subtle underlying quirks, almost always there, make rapports warm and strong. Share on X

I just hope that one day M also shares such a bond with S. I don’t want her to believe that a father-daughter need to have a formal and distant relationship. A father-daughter relationship is one of the most precious in the world and I want M to have one special gesture or routine with S, something which is their own just like I do with my dad.

 

So, tell me, do you have a ritual with your loved ones too, something you would like to talk about?

 

 

#MicroblogMondays

 

36 thoughts on “#ViewFromMyWindow – A Father, A Daughter & A Peck On The Cheeks”

  1. That is so beautiful! Both of my parents are gone for many years now. I loved how my Dad would tell me stories and sometimes sing to me before tucking me in at night.

    1. I’m sure they are still around in your memories and in the form of blessing, Alana. Thank you for reading and sharing 🙂

  2. I love the fact that you share such a special relationship with your dad and most important, are not queasy about showing it either. I can completely empathise. I am the same with my dad and see that Gy is the same too. I don’t remember going through the awkward teen phase when I felt ‘ashamed’ to express myself. I skipped it completely and am grateful for that. So touched by this simple and loving trait that you shared with us 🙂
    Shailaja Vishwanath recently posted…How Walking Changed My LifeMy Profile

  3. Dad was never one to physically show his love. But he is always so open, so warm and so genuine that it did not matter. Though l don’t hug him, the love and respect l feel for him is immense. My kids are very physical with us. They kiss and hug us every single day. Both the sons do that every night before going to bed and it is special. So lovely to read about your special bond with your dad.

  4. Yeah. Dads are the first man we all see and be with. I remember for a very long time after I got married to A, I would constantly compare how my dad would do things;) of course much to A’s irritation.. My two little ones now seem to be in a similar fashion, with their dad. They absolutely adore him and cant be without him. I guess the relationship between a dad and daughter is unique and it shall remain so till eternity
    Ramya Abhinand recently posted…Book Review- A Broken Man by Akash VermaMy Profile

  5. How sweet! yes, we have plenty of rituals at home and I love them. I love that my family is so affectionate, and that my son is very tactile. Nothing like the sense of touch to convey so much more than words can ever can. 🙂
    Vidya Sury recently posted…Postcards from the edgeMy Profile

  7. Beautiful story! My dad and I had a similar relationship. My last semester of college, I commuted and he used to pick me up at the bus stop. He would always purposely park where I could see the side window of his car as I got off the bus. I had a stuffed clown with a happy face on one side and a sad face on the other. He would keep it in the window with the sad face on and then when I got off the bus and he was pretty sure I’d seen it, he would turn the clown to the happy side and put it back in the window. I was 21 and I loved it.

  9. I don’t have that kind of relationship with my dad- in fact I’d kind of laugh thinking of that. But, I definitely had that with my mom. In fact it’s been 10 years next month since she died and I miss her every day. I ache for her every day. I always had a hug and a kiss for her. And, for my granddad too. But my dad and I have never been close for a lot of reasons including, but not limited to how badly abused I was by his mother- she spent 18 years trying to kill me and that didn’t help my relationship with her son.

  10. In this world, the most precious relationship for me is with my Papa. Your post brought tears in my eyes because I am the only princess of my Papa and I still now kiss him, hug him tightly and even massage my legs when I am too tired (he he) like a small kid though now it is an occasional activity after marriage still the bond is same. He is the most controlled man I have ever seen in my life and I want to say Ï love you Papa”.

    Thanks Nabanita for such a wonderful post!

  11. During our growing up years we were never shamed for expressing affection – the ‘teen’ phase wasn’t such a big deal as it is made out now. My sister and I share a very warm relationship with our dad – in fact with mum being the really strict one as well as the big worrier we were a ‘gang’ together. When I was away at the hostel it was him I’d tell if I needed help from our family doctor with instructions to ‘not tell mum’ because she worry herself.
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  13. I know exactly what you mean, I was always my father’s “pumpkin” and I was never ashamed to kiss him on the cheek. I think he would have been very hurt had I ever gone through a stage where I was “too cool” for kisses. The best part is that now he gets extra kisses from my daughter!

  14. I still kiss my parents on the cheek every time I see them as a greeting, if I’m going to bed (but staying at their house), or leaving to go back to my house. I never really thought about it, but I do it with my kids, too. And I hope they’re still doing it with me when they’re adults!

  17. My dad and I had a song that was our “thing”. “Close to you” by The Carpenters. 🙂 He would sing it to me to make me smile when I was sad.

  18. It’s such a beautiful post, Nabanita. My Dad and I used to go to watch movies together. Mom hated watching war movies. Dad loved them. So I was his designated companion. And I learnt a lot of history too, because no movie was complete with out a discussion as to what was the significance of that particular battle or war. When you are one of four kids, these special one on one times with your dad are really, really special.

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