by Sue Hodgson –
Recently, one of my writers, Lara Field, shared with me a book she’s written. Ricky J. is a personal story of a father, husband, grandfather and son. It’s a compendium of three daughters’ remembrances of their shared experiences with their late father. It was quite inspiring, and reminded me why we love celebrating our special Men To Watch feature, and Father’s Day, in our June issue.
I think back now to my relationship with my father. I lost him way too young, almost 28 years ago. He was taken from us by cancer. It was a time of huge emotions: disappointment, anger, disbelief and confusion. To be honest, I blamed him. After all, he was my dad. I can remember for months after his death, having his picture in my office, talking to him and asking, “Why did you do this to me? Why did you end our relationship so quickly?” At the time none of it made sense,
but as my experiences in life have grown, those memories and wounds have been better understood, and healed.
We all have to face adversity. I’ve been thinking about the fact that we don’t get to choose our parents or siblings; they are part of the hand that is dealt to us. What about our friends and colleagues – do we choose them, or do they stumble into our lives for a reason? Perhaps it’s both. Just like life itself, do we fully have control of it or is it predetermined?
After reading Lara’s book and the special experiences those women all shared with their father, it left me with the fact: cliché or not, we only have one life and we should live it to the fullest before we go. Don’t be negative; be all that is positive! Don’t intentionally hurt someone; it doesn’t serve any purpose. Be open to understanding and please be kind. Regardless of a difficult situation, we can work things out; we can all be better, community-minded, people.
Happy Father’s Day!
“The good news is that you are alive. The essential thing is that you must live.” – Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
Photo by Janis Jean Photography.
Styled by Shai Thompson at House of Lily Koi, Sidney.
