“Hanggang ngayon, baby pa rin talaga kita.” (“Up until now, you are still my baby.”)
— This was what my dad told me early this morning as he hugged me and kissed me goodbye.
He gave us a short visit (really short, as in he got here yesterday afternoon and had to leave first thing in the morning) and I was still in bed when he had to leave for the airport. I was still groggy when I hugged him back and smiled at the “cheesy-ness” of his statement, but I appreciated every bit of mush there. 
I love it when my dad comes to visit us. Just yesterday I told him how I’ve noticed that every time we get together, from the moment we get within a five-meter radius distance from each other, there’s no stopping me from talking (I got that from him). I even noticed yesterday that for the first time, Alyanna fell quiet as she lost hope of being able to interrupt our conversation. What a rare sight!
My two girls also adore their grandpa. Even though they seldom see each other since he lives all the way south, they easily warm up to him as soon as they get together. I describe my daughters’ personalities as “diesel”, in the sense that it takes them a long time to warm up to people and interact with them. But with my dad, they make an exemption. I guess all the love and affection just naturally overflow from him that they can’t help but receive and reciprocate.
Ever since I was a little girl, I never lacked affection and affirmation from my dad. He made it a point to show me how much he loved me and how much he valued and accepted me. He has always been one of my very best friends. I could tell him anything, as in anything…and I did—even when I got mad at him or got hurt by anything he said to me, or when I felt frustrated with the things that were happening in my life. When I couldn’t say it out loud, I expressed myself through writing. Eitherway, I always let him in on how I felt and what I was thinking, and he would always respond with wisdom, acceptance, and in love.
When I look at how my relationship with my earthly father has been, I can say that it has greatly affected how I am with my Heavenly Father. I don’t need to look for affection and affirmation anywhere else because now I get it first and foremost from Him. He always makes it a point to show me how much he loves me, values me, and accepts me. He is my very best friend. I could tell him anything… and I do— whether my life is going well or when I am facing some difficulties and disappointments. Even when I couldn’t say it out loud, the beauty of it is that my Heavenly Father already knows my thoughts. He always knows and understands how I’m feeling and what I’m thinking—even when sometimes I do not understand myself— and he always gives me His wisdom, always accepts me, and always responds in love. He can’t help himself— He is love.
It is my prayer that as I grow older in my faith, it will be this way still— that I will always be that child who first runs to her Father, to receive and reciprocate the love and affection. I want to grow in my faith being comfortable with hearing those words from my Heavenly Father saying, “My daughter, up until now, you’re still my baby.”