The children must become the father

The children must become the father
By Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation

A good thing about being a child is that you can be ignorant without feeling guilt. Children can take love for granted, for example. Even your parents’ most remarkable abilities, like musical or linguistic talents, can be unceremoniously ignored ...

.... When children live with extraordinary things day in and day out, those things become ordinary.

Calling ourselves children of His Majesty may be a way to comfort ourselves during these difficult hours. The pictures on the walls – showing him drenched in sweat, trekking through remote landscapes, pointing his camera or looking at maps – were routine things that children could be ignorant about.

When he earned praise, either here or abroad, it was “nothing unexpected”. What was so exciting about his fluency in French and English anyway? The songs he composed were pleasant to hear, but how many “children” really stopped to listen and thought “Wow, my father did this”? 

One part of being a father is that it’s okay for the children to ignore the songs. And the love. You don’t miss the water until the well runs dry, they say. 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/tulsathit/30297891

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-10-19