PATERNAL LOVE TO THE FAMILY by Kolongs Victor

Paternal love is the father's side of parental care, affection, and responsibility rendered to the family.

Paternal love is more than just a mere love. It's largely a sacrifice, because it involves risking one's life for the family without second thought. It's action oriented, and therefore goes beyond rhetorics.

Some people try comparing father's love with that of a mother. What is their basis if I may ask? While we talk of mother's love in terms of affection, that of a father metamorphosis into sacrifice. Paternal love is like an ideology which influences a man to lay down his life in it defense. A father goes extra mile to dream for the family and aggressively pursue it. His love for the family is a holistic one.

Do we wonder why there are more widows than widowers? Well, the father is the soldier of the family, a risk taker, and a sacrificial Lamb. More men die from the stress accrued in the heat of fending for the family. Sometimes the father starves himself by leaving home on empty stomach, some spend weeks away from the comfort of their homes-all in the interest of the family.

The society regards the father as the head of the family, a clause with enormous implications. This belief leaves the father caught in the web of responsibility, running from post to pillar in trying to justify the confidence reposed in him. He is expected to provide shelter, settle bills such as that of feeding, water, light, hospital, school, social functions, relatives e.t.c...and he is willingly led by the nose without raising a whimper like a sacrificial Lamb. Should he fail or object, he looses regards as the head of the family.

Conclusively, and without prejudice to mother's love, a simple fact goes that father's love is unquantifiably enormous. It can be envisaged to be like a man carrying a basket on his head where all the family members- including the mother form part of it contents.

© Kolongs Victor

Nigeria