# Happy 8th Birthday, Nathen! *May 23, 2022 · Medium · Roby John* ![Nathens 8th Birthday](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/768/1*hWKyMw_q4xn-aS6csf5MOQ.jpeg) I wrote a somewhat borrowed article on Nathens 7th Birthday here https://medium.com/@robytj/nathen-turns-7-93ae52ed9890 A key line from there that struck with me was Table Tennis and Tennis does not say Zero, it says Love. If every Game we play is played with Love, then there can never be any losing in that game. Today is Fathers day and after 11 years I’m with my Father by himself and not with my kids who always manage to make this day special for me. So here is some reflection on my own father and my own experiences on being a Father for almost 11 years (Serah turns 11 this week) Some one once said that we all grown up to be our Fathers. If I am half as good as my own father, I think I will have done a great job. For the first 8 years of school almost my father drove us and picked us from School. There were many evenings on those school days where our Father baby sat for us since my mother used to work a late evening shift at here college. For my brother and I this meant lots of time with dad playing Carrom, Cards and using the home Dining Table as our TT Table. There was this amazing snack that my dad made almost every evening those days (which I realized today was mostly green veggies with Okra and Green Beans). I remember finishing every bowl before the end of the game. Gardening was (and still is) my dads only guilt pleasure. We often joke that he loves his plants more than his family. There was the loving tending to the Coconut Trees and the Curry Leaf Pots and a concoction of special organic manure. Our trees till date have the best tasting fruit that I have eaten. My dad is also a very simple man and somewhere in between taught us the value of that. There were many deviations by us but today I reflect and realize that I am more like him now than I ever was. In doing so dad you made the Charles Kettering quote come alive “Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” My dads encouragement and expecting a better performance every time led to better sports and academic achievements. His wise investing and bearing all the family’s financial concerns always meant that we were never short of money or almost anything that we desired. We grew up never thinking anything was unachievable. We I did my first startup, my dad paid a few home loan Emi’s for my home and also gave me the seed money to buy the office from his own retirement funds for what is the June Gaming office (called Charlie’s house today). Everyday going to office meant it was already an inspiration to never let my Father’s sacrifice fail. Till today my Father reminds us everyday that the richest person is one who has no needs and not one who has the most possessions. For a home that builds stuff for fancy iPhones and high end devices my dads favorite companion till recently was Samsung J2 (50$ phone). Today whatever we are are because of all your sacrifices and wisdom you imparted by example. ![My Dad playing TT with me on our terrace table !](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/700/1*PEjev7ytnsTefYFW_vErQA.jpeg) I realize today that no matter how old or how experienced i will grow into, I will always look at my father as my Super Hero. Hence the saying goes “A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.” To my own experiences of fatherhood since June 23, 2010 when my daughter was born i realize today what is meant by Fatherhood. “The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you’re unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.” - John Green or this one which reflects my own understanding of fatherhood today “Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later . . . that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life.” –Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities For Dad, I end with a quote that might be apt for all Fathers “Father! — To God Himself we cannot give a holier name.” –William Wordsworth For My Son Nathen whose birthday this article was for, here are words I think of every time I think about you. Sit with me Daddy, I’ll tell you my tales, Praise my achievements, Comfort my fails, I’ll snuggle in close, Whilst I fit on your knee And you cant imagine whom I’ll grow up to be ! On this birthday Nathen, I pray and wish that one day you grow up to be better than all of us and make a difference in the world ! Love you Nathen and Daddy ! June 20, 2021 (Source: https://medium.com/@robytj/happy-8th-birthday-nathen-688dd3a0787)