“You know your children are growing up
when they stop asking you where they came from
and refuse to tell you where they're going.”
- P.J. O'Rourke
It was during the reception, as I watched Clarisse dance with her dad, that I couldn't help but think that one day, I will also come to this crossroad as well. Sophia will turn eighteen and there is nothing or no one can do to stop it. I immediately started to think back on the time when Sophia was only a couple of months old, and how the only way to make her fall sleep was to carry her while swaying around the living room. And while I was swaying her to sleep, every now and then I would imagine how it would feel like dancing with her on her wedding day. I would try imagining how she would look like twenty or thirty years from now. Would she wear her hair up or down? Would she wear her mother's dress? Or would she wear something quirky just to get a good laugh and troll us? I wonder what music she would play for the father and daughter dance? Hopefully it's some band from the 90's that I love. Maybe some Aerosmith. Or Bon Jovi.
I'm pretty sure Clarisse's dad also envisioned himself in the future, dancing with her on her 18th birthday as well. And that time has finally come. Elated that his daughter has grown up to become a beautiful, strong and confident young lady. But at the same time, that same happiness is mixed with some tribulation that his youngest is closer to the day that she leaves the nest and goes off to college. I tell ya, this lifelong duty called parenthood is no joke. I read somewhere that we only have a limited amount of time to spend with our children as kids. 940 Saturdays to be exact. And what's funny is that within that number, not all 940 Saturdays will have your child want to willingly spend those Saturdays with you. Especially once they discover that there is a "whole 'nother world" when they are out with their friends. You'll probably find yourself dragging them to get off their behinds just so they can hang out with you. You know. Just to remind them that parents are humans also and not a walking ATM machine. Ain't that just the saddest truth? But with the Guevarras, I could tell their family is different. They have a familial bond that is grounded on love, loyalty and laughter. And I can tell that bond is lasting. And I'll even venture to say that Clarisse, as a college student, will be spending her free Saturdays hanging out at her house. I mean as a college student who can resist free Wi-Fi, free food and free laundry?
So going back to that night as Clarisse and her dad concluded their father-daughter dance, her dad collapsed to the floor from what seemed like a mix of exhaustion and relief. In jest of course. Everyone clapped and laughed. It was a lovely performance indeed. But hey, guess what? There is this thing called 18 roses where the father gets to dance with his daughter again. So her dad gets back up again, rose in hand and with a sigh, waited for his turn to dance with Clarisse again. If that wasn't a foreshadowing of what fatherhood is really like, then I don't know what is. Ah. The joy and pains of being a parent. Because our duties as fathers to our precious daughters are never truly over.
**Thanks to Klein of KadaStudio for 2nd shooting!!!
VENDORS:
Venue: Double Tree Hilton
Videographer: GT5 Productions
Florist/Centerpieces: Coco Signo Guevarra
Hair/MUA: JV Samson
Cake: Custom Cakes by Corinne
Desserts: Roro's Cakepops & Confections & Corinne Guiang
MC/DJ: Noel Inocencio
