Paint With Dad: Investing in a Different Type of Bond

Father’s Day always doubles as Friendship Day to me.

Let me tell you why.

You know, everyone has that friend in their adult life who you don’t talk to for a bit, then when you do, you go on and on, sometimes for hours catching up.

That’s me and my dad.

My father is more than my birth parent. He’s my friend.

I know that it’s typical of people to say nice things like this on Father’s Day, but it’s not the case. My father and I truly have a rare relationship.

I didn’t realise how different our friendship was until I posted a video of us on his birthday last year.

My Twitter mentions blew up.

I got dozens of comments like, “You casually call your father ‘big head’???”

You see, I really wish I had a grass-to-grace story about how things weren’t always like this – to make for an epic plot – but I don’t. I’ve always lived this dream.

Growing up, I loved unsliced bread. I could eat bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner without a flinch. Every time we bought bread though, it was for breakfast the next day. That rule would always fall on deaf ears. I always wondered how I couldn’t eat bread even though I could clearly see it lying there on the table.

So, I would open the bread, and burrow a hole in from the top – eating only the soft white crumb, and leaving the outer crust. That was my favourite part anyway, so I was having the time of my life. I would get so lost enjoying the bread that I would go deeper and deeper into the loaf till I almost reached the bottom. Afterwards, I would tie the bread like nothing happened, and put it back on the table.

When it was time for breakfast the next day, and someone complained that there was a gaping hole in one of the loaves, my father would burst into laughter and eat what was left of that excavated bread, while my mum and siblings enjoyed the one which was left unattacked.

After this went on for the longest time, my little brain just concluded that my father loved the hard crust of bread. I was wrong. Regardless of how much of an inconvenience it was, my father was willing to eat bread crust for breakfast to make me happy and comfortable.

My mother decided she had had enough, and decided that they would start to buy me a separate loaf, since I had chosen the rat path. A whole loaf of bread? Just for me? I was living the dream!

Our friendship didn’t start and end with bread.

There were Saturdays spent swimming and teaching me how to play table tennis at Shell Club in Port-Harcourt. We’ve had all-you-can-eat birthday celebrations on the dining table. There have been father-daughter conversations in the car to or from school. In all these, I can very easily say again, that my father is my best friend.

We can go on and on with more stories of burrowed bread and my father’s love for me, but I can hardly see through the tears in my eyes. So I’d stop now.

I have all these memories with my father that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and I’m not blind to this privilege.

I know that society has made it hard for children to bond with their fathers and create memories just like mine that would last for a long time. Even apart from societal standards, some people don’t have their fathers anymore, and it breaks my heart to think of it. If you’re reading this, and this is you, you’re also my hero today. I celebrate your strength, and I’m sending you all my love.

This is why when the idea for Paint with Dad was shared, I was so excited to be a part of it. We were handing out tickets to an experience of a lifetime. We were making an investment in a different kind of bond, and it was so beautiful to see.

Fathers and their children had a chance to pause, bond, create art and build memories intentionally. 

They shared emotional stories with us too!

Gosh, I’m particularly excited to have been a part of something so full of love, food, smiles, and good vibes. We take financial investments seriously at Cowrywise, but sometimes, just like today, it goes beyond money. It’s in people, in love, and in happiness.

Phew, enough has been said. Watch the short video to take a peek into what Father’s Day means to us at Cowrywise HQ. It’s the most wholesome video you’d watch today. I guarantee it. 

Happy Father’s Day 💙

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