by Sneha

For those who know me, yall should know this was a long time coming 😉 Yes that is me, a diva in red shoes, gold and black purse in a sparkling outfit cuz that’s how I roll. Yes that’s me and my daddy, my superman!

The rest of you may laugh but it’s true, I AM A PRINCESS! Don’t judge! So the official scrolls from India have been surprisingly been lost in transit but I stand by it, why? CUZ my daddy says so! Sounds like I’m 10, right? HA, damn right! (Shout out to my fellow blogger, Nancy I still call mine daddy too, it’s all good)

My dad and I have shared an inside joke for years: here goes, deep down, deep deep down, I am Veruca. You remember her. One of my favorite movies, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; she was the annoying and beyond spoiled little brat that went down the “bad egg” chute after her brilliant musical solo. Yes, yours truly use to sing it while my dad would laugh and applaud as my mom rolled her eyes and walked away. This was years ago of course, well sort of. Ahhhhh, I can only pray I wasn’t as big as a pain in the ass as she was (hehehe) but I was, am daddy’s little princess. Thank you daddy.

In my culture, it’s extremely important to have a son, at least one, to carry on the family name, business, etc blah blah blah. Instead, my poor dad got stuck with 3 very smart, outspoken and passionate daughters, each shining in her own light. He has never shown an ounce of disappointment; he is beyond amazing; GOD bless him and all he’s endured. Every man in his generation only talk about their sons, their success, their kids, their blah blah blah. But not my dad. He has taken pride in all our adventures, triumphs and even failures! He has supported us three in all our crazy ideas, projects and milestones. We dedicate our adventurous and risk taking personality to him. Thank you daddy.

Growing up, we were in charge of certain chores. Waking up at wee hours to help with the dry cleaners (not an easy or desirable task), we had to take turns cutting the grass IN the horrific Texas heat ON our massive backyard and front yard, we learned the ins and outs of the business from upkeep to delivery to accounting, learn how to cook, help mom with family, we had to wash our own cars, learn how to change a tire and of course, at the end, enjoy daddy’s bashful smile when he knew he had three “don’t mess with” girls that could take care of business like no other son. The responsibilities not only taught us discipline but strength, the assurance that we were capable of any project no matter how difficult and the ultimate sense of encouragement, that we could do ANYthing we put your minds to! Thank you daddy.

These memories, his constant encouragement and mere presence continue to fuel my life in pursuit of not only my own happiness but the mere recognition and acknowledgement of my so-far success in the eyes of my dad. He, like many of our fathers not only sacrificed time, energy, and the best years of his life to better the lives of his children. That is time I can never return, but I only pray that I can afford him the same carefree, fun, limitless love, without judgment type of life he has offered me to this very day. I can’t ever repay him for all that he has done and continues to do for me, but I can say that I am one proud independent, stubborn and loud Indian woman in this day in age to say she has a father who not only supports her without bounds, pushes her to her limits and will always “have her back.” Thank you daddy. Happy Fathers Day!