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Lee In-tae | By Lee In-tae
Four years ago when I was in seventh grade, my music teacher told us to practice the song Mother''s Grace.’’ While I was singing, a question popped into my mind, Why aren''t there songs or writings about a father''s love?’’
When I asked one of my friends who was singing with me, she said, I think a mother''s love is stronger and more touching than a father''s love.’’
It was true. When I think of my mother, I believe maternal love is above everything. I think not only my mother''s love but also that of almost every mother is so great and deep that it cannot be compared to anything else.
It’s no doubt that a mother’s love for her children is unquestionable, but I don''t think a father''s love is any less. Let''s look at the story of Team Hoyt,’’ which caused every American who heard the story to cry. It''s a about Rick Hoyt, a son, born with cerebral palsy and Dick Hoyt, his father who tried to help him overcome his son’s handicap.
When Rick, at the age of 15, wrote to his father with his special computer, Father, I want to run,’’ Dick ran pushing his son in a wheel chair. Then they ran the whole course of a triathlon, which is a tough challenge even for normal people. Spectators waited and gave the two thunderous applause even though they were the last to cross the finish line because Dick was running the 226-kilometer race carrying his son on a boat, a bicycle, and in a wheelchair.
Not only the spectators in the stadium but everyone who witnessed the scene on screen were touched and cried. I thought about my father while watching this. Even though I''m healthy and my father never took part in a triathlon, I believe my father would do just the same as Dick Hoyt if I were in the same predicament as Rick.
During my father''s fellowship year in North Carolina in 2003, he took pains every morning to sweep our front yard. At the time, I couldn''t understand why he was doing this. There wasn''t much to clean up and I wondered what caused him to perform such a tedious task every day.
One day, I asked him, Why do you sweep the front yard so early in the morning? It will be dusty again soon and beside it''s not really that dirty.’’
My father just smiled. That night, my mother relieved me of my curiosity. One morning at dawn, my mother had seen my father sweeping the front yard and she asked him the same question. My father answered, How stressful it must be for the kids to be in this country where they don''t know anyone and can''t express their mind? Wouldn''t they feel even worse if the yard was dirty or if their shoes were covered with dirt when they go to school or enter the house?’’
My father woke up at dawn because he was worried that our shoes would be dirty. His love and care for us helped my brothers and me study without a sense of inferiority in an unfamiliar surrounding.
Like my father, many fathers don''t express their love outwardly. But I don’t think that is because their love is less than that of a mother’s but rather because they feel awkward expressing themselves. Also, the time they get to spend with their children is limited because fathers are hard at work outside of home to make a better life for their families.
A father''s silent love is as deep and great as a mother''s touching love. So I would like to urge someone to write a song about father''s love for their children, which is just as great as a mother''s love in the song “Mother''s Grace.”
If someone could compose the music I would love to write the lyrics for a song about Father''s Love.’’
leeit007@hanmail.net
Lee In-tae is an 11th grade student at Myoungi Foreign Language High School in Gyeonggi Province.
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