PARENTS MUST TEACH KIDS THE VIRTUE OF HARD WORK

Teaching them young

By Manny Piñol

On Saturday, I and my brothers, gathered for a simple remembrance of the 22nd death anniversary of our father, Bernardo Magbanua Piñol, who succumbed to brain cancer in 1995.
My father was campaigning for the Mayoralty post when he fell ill and I was asked to run as his substitute when he withdrew from the race.
I took my oath as the new Mayor of our hometown, M'lang in North Cotabato, with my father witnesding the ceremony from a wheelchair. A month and three days later, he passed away.

Our father was a very simple man who was raised in poverty and who learned the virtues of patience, perseverance and hard work.

He was barefoot when he received his diploma from the elementary grades, overcame poverty and became a teacher.

Even when he was teaching, his love for the farm and hard work never ceased.

Every weekend, he would lead us, his sons, to the farm where we all learned how to appreciate the value of hard work.

It was this training which prepared us for the hardships in life.

While we were wanting of so many things in life when we were growing up, we never complained.

After all, our father went through greater hardships and graduated from the elementary schools without any shoes.

Our father was very strict and he believed in disciplining his children the hard and painful way.

Looking back, however, I believe we would not be what we are now were it not for the toughness of our father which was tempered by the gentleness of our mother, Efigenia.

I am happy that somehow, I and my brothers were able to share with our own children the lessons we learned the hard and painful way from our father.

Yesterday, as I watched my own son, Imman, clean the main canal of the fishponds in our farm, I felt joy seeing him obviously enjoying what he was doing.

This was the lesson that our father kept on repeating: when you love what you do, it will never be hard work but fulfillment.

#ThankYouTatay! #LoveHardWork!