My father unwittingly revealed to me an astonishing revelation last Father’s Day (June 21, 2009).

He does have his favorites among his children, and he shares the same favorite child with his spouse. That is to say, if you hadn’t exactly get my drift, my mom and my dad favors the same child.

It all started with Father’s Day texts. Of course, all my siblings sent their greetings (well, technically, not all really, its all minus one) since they are all faraway. I alone owns the prestige of staying at home without rent or pay, and mom and dad I thank you for that.

SO, considering my previous sentence,  I should say, I AM the favorite. But mind you, I wasn’t among the children who texted him because I was with him that day. I greeted him in person, the moment I woke up and he told me to cook breakfast. That’s the privilege of living with your parents, you get to greet them in person, give him a kiss and a bear hug and they get to tell you to prepare the food. You prepare the food and you get your share of eating it as well was the unspoken rule hehehe. Hey, I’m not complaining at all, I’m just saying. But I digress.

What was surprising with his revelation was not the fact that he has his favorite. It is a common fact that parents DO have favorites among their children. What was startling was the fact that my parents favor the same child, because that seldom happens. In most large families, one parent favors one child and the other parent favors another. Spouses are after all two separate individuals, hence, it is more accepted to have different children as their favorites.

In our large family, my parents have this really strong bond between them so maybe I shouldn’t be shocked that they both favor the same child. But still I was caught off guard, so there.

To have the honor of being the unspoken favorite child is the highest prestige a daughter or a son can have in the family.

However, to be the favorite child is both an honor and a curse. It is a curse because it cannot be declared publicly. It is an honor because the favored child can have anything s/he wants when s/he asks for it.

In fairness to my parents, they both worked hard at inconspicuously showing the child is their favorite. It is barely evident in their actions and words when the children are all present. I am content to have the honor of knowing who the child is; this is part of the privilege of living with my parents.

For you my dear sibling, I thank you for making Father happy on Father’s Day with a simple text greeting. Let us always remember, Father needs to hear from all of us that he is also special. Father’s Day is just one day, what about the rest of the year?