In Dad's Cradle: Magic and Miracles

When my wife had to go for a conference in Vietnam, baby Kaitlin was left with me. So I thought going to my Mom's place will help me a lot and make things very simple. But the story of me being a single dad for 5 days is not as simple as we all think.

You may all agree that 5 days without my wife is just a short period of time. That was also my first thought. But no, that was the longest 5 days I've ever experienced in my whole daddyhood.

Days before my wife left, my right wrist was hating me already. I can't extend, rotate, or flex my wrist maybe because my baby is gaining more weight and she's hyperactive. You think that's bad enough? Wait there's more! My left eye was also swollen because of an infection. It was too painful and irritating and I can't even open my eye properly.

I had to drive for 1 hour from our house to my Mom's house with my left eye bugging me. The first hour without my wife was already a big challenge for me. How will I be able to take care our little princess? That is all I was thinking of that time. I really have to be in my Mom's house so she can help me take care of baby Kaitlin. But then again, when all the things seemed to be in their proper places, unexpected things also came to steal the moment.

I was so confident that my Mom's experience in taking care of babies would be a big help for me since baby Kaitlin will be her 6th grandchild. But when we arrived my Mom's house, my little princes suddenly turned into a plant called "makahiya". She never wanted to be touched by other people even by my mom. Insist or be deaf. She would cry like there was a megaphone inside her throat. She would never stop, not until I pick her up. Even if she was playing, she didn't want me to leave her. I couldn't even go to the bathroom to wash my feet. She was too clingy that even my eating time became eating when there's time. So my plan of letting Kaitlin to be with my Mom ended with me and Kaitlin again.

My plan of resting my wrist and my eye also shattered into pieces, a dream that became a nightmare. Exaggerated? I hope so but it's not. My left eye also faced headbutts, punches, kicks, knees and even rattles. I thought that I'd rather be a mushroom standing at one of the roots of a big tree than to be a dad. Even my Mom pitied me, her willingness to help me is blocked by the clingyness of my baby. I couldn't even go to the hospital to let the doctors check my eyes whose the swelling became bigger and bigger because Kaitlin don't want to be left from everyone but me.

This was the greatest challenge I've ever encountered as dad so far. I felt helpless and so all I did was pray that God would take away all the swelling and pain that my body was experiencing. Every night, I would ask Him to heal me, and every morning I was disappointed because the swelling was still there. For five long days I was so disappointed. It felt like He didn't hear me.

Until realization came into place. I remember the movie Bruce Almighty when God and Bruce is talking about magics and miracles. Parting your soup into two is a magic not a miracle. Healing my eye in just one day is a magic not a miracle. A single mom who have two jobs but still able to come to her son's soccer practice is a miracle. A youth who says no to drugs and yes to school is a miracle. A dad who has a bad wrist and a swollen eye but still takes care of her baby without the help from anyone is a miracle. Most people ask God to do things for them, but they don't realize they have the power to do things. You want to see a miracle? Be the miracle.

P.S. As for my wife who returned after five days, just look in the picture what she brought home for me and for our little princess. Even if she was outside the country, she was still able to take care of our baby. That's why I love my wife very much.