A day late, I know, but I was distracted yesterday by the most amazing wife giving me a great father’s day. Despite the fact that our kid is now 9 days overdue so I haven't gotten to physically hold our child yet, Liz summoned the energy to make me feel like an amazing father already – I even got a card signed from the little one!
Everyone who knows me (especially those at my wedding reception) will know how much my dad means to be. Indeed, the only time I cried during the whole day was to address my father during my speech! I truly believe that if I turn out to be half as good a dad to my children as he has been to me, then my family will flourish. I find myself increasingly not wanting to take him for granted, as I know many out there do not have this kind of relationship.
I wanted not to just mention this great man, but another who in football terms may be described as his opposite number; my father-in-law, Bob Watkins (or Big Bob to most).
I have only had the pleasure of spending about 6 weeks of my life with him, and only spoken to him on the phone a handful of times – yet his warmth and integrity and welcoming qualities shine through abundantly. His sense of humour and candidness are remarkable (typically after most of my punch lines Liz will tell me that it was a joke her dad would tell!), I remember asking for Liz’s hand in marriage and his response was: “Sure… you have to live with her”!!
We don’t appear to have much in common – we grew up an ocean apart; he’s into baseball, I’m into football; he’s incredible at Trivial Pursuit, I struggle with multiple choice questions; his scorecard reads like a soccer score, mine like a cricket score – yet I feel completely at home when with him, it's just so clear that he's a quality man. He’s quietly spoken, but will produce a real gem when he converses. I can sit for hours with him in a room without saying anything, and feel like we've had quality time.
This isn’t meant to be a soppy blog, so I'll stop before I've taken it too far (fearing that I already have); I just happen to have two great men in my family.
Happy Fathers Day, guys.
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