I hope they tell them these truths...

Dear Dad,

It’s the end of another school year, and as usual, parents have been “summoned” to watch the 400+ kids get on stage to deliver varying versions of French and English songs to loud cheering, clapping and clicking of all sorts of cameras. As I look around the hall packed with proud Dads angling to get the right shot for the Gram or family WhatsApp groups, I cannot help but wonder if they also tell them some of the life nuggets you told us while growing up.

I recently finished the blockbuster tv series “Game of thrones” (Yes, I’m still hooked on my fantasy literature!) - and Arya Stark, the tomboyish independent third child of the Stark family is a true embodiment of some of those life truths you shared.

#Truth 1 - Know Yourself……or better still, define yourself. From age 9, Arya knew she had no interest in being a ladylike noblewoman despite many frustrated attempts by others who would have preferred her to “knit quietly like every other lady”. All through the series, we watch her evolve to become an expert swords-woman, a deft spy and eventually turn down a somewhat lucrative marriage proposal to pursue her interests. She invariably becomes one of the more successful characters of the series, much to no one’s surprise. I wonder what her story would have been had she succumbed to the societal pressures. I hope they tell them this truth.

#Truth 2 - Build your brand……or better still, be a brand. Arya doesn’t just desire to be a warrior. Throughout the series, she invests blood, sweat, tears, tragic loss and near death to become arguably one of the fiercest warriors of the show. She learns skin-changing, stealth, close combat, dagger-swapping and a wide range of life-ending methods. As a result, it is she, who is eventually able to end the terror of the dreaded Night King and his army of the dead. In the end, she becomes known and respected as an excellent deadly assassin (hilarious but true – at least in the world of Westeros!). No one wonders at Arya’s success because the truth is that her calculated investments paid off. She had become a brand – a fierce warrior and deadly assassin – but a brand nonetheless. I hope they tell them this truth.

#Truth 3 - Go West ……or better still go north-west. I can actually visualize you right now, furrowing your brows and thinking “hmm I never said that”…. But you did! You always encouraged us to try new and different ventures, to follow the road less traveled and to never be afraid to chart a course that was decidedly different from the norm. And, when we are done conquering one adventure, before we get too comfortable; to gather up our courage again and head north-west to the next one, unsure of the outcome, yet fearless in the face of the challenge. At the end of the series, all battles won; Arya heads west and quite frankly, thanks to a much unexpected season ending, leaves us all envious and in wonder of her future. I hope they tell them this truth.

Dad, the kids are now singing and swaying to the last of the songs, the orchestra is in full swing and I can see your grand kids in the crowd, totally immersed in their falsettos. As I look around the room one last time, just as the last notes fade off and the kids start jumping off the stage into welcoming hugs and kisses, I sincerely hope that, indeed, these fathers tell them some, if not all of these life truths, just as you did to us.

 Happy Father’s Day!