Happy Birthday
I’ve been very fortunate to have been surrounded by really great people for most of my life. This really came to the fore over the weekend with my Dad’s 50th birthday party.
My Dad has achieved an incredible amount over his life so far, but when it comes down to it, he just loves life, his family and friends, and fast cars. Even though he’s 50, it’s blatantly obvious that he’s still a big kid – always having a laugh, a drink and a good time. From him, in the very least, I’ve inherited the love of fast cars and the love of a good drink.
Both of us have seen plenty of the world: his birthday party was squeezed in between his trip to Singapore, and my trip to Egypt. We’ve had memorable airport experiences in Fiji and celebrated my graduation in the Netherlands with a fifty Euro bar; ending with some challenging cobbled Dutch streets.
My Mum and Dad have what is best described as a ‘close circle of friends’. Great people that they’ve known for a really long time and you can absolutely count on. However, ‘close’ implies small, which isn’t quite the case.
On the weekend I caught up with around fifty ‘close’ friends, people I’ve known my whole life, who have known my parents in business and socially, people from all walks of life and experiences.
It was a day full of stories, memorabilia and photos, of catching up over a beer and promising to see each other more often.
The amount of effort that was put in was phenomenal. There were your usual novelty gifts and gags, but it was the speeches that made the day. A long time family friend spoke with incredibly sincerity to say “I know almost everyone here, because I’ve met them through you, including my beautiful wife.”
I heard the words of a business partner, who spoke of my father’s attitude towards business, and why he was like no other.
I received a passing comment over the dessert table from a long time employee and friend of my parents. “I’ve been looking at all your family photos and they feel like my family photos because I’ve seen them all before. I think it’s because most of the time, because I’ve been there.”
These are all people who make up my extended family. People from every walk of life and background, people that support me and that always keep me grounded.
A few years ago, while my Mum was being interviewed, they asked me for my comments on growing up in the family that I have. I told him that I didn’t really know; for a very long time I thought everyone’s parents were like that, and that I never felt that my situation was out of the ordinary.
It always takes something special, like a birthday, to reflect on, and appreciate a life less ordinary.
Happy Birthday Dad.
My Dad has achieved an incredible amount over his life so far, but when it comes down to it, he just loves life, his family and friends, and fast cars. Even though he’s 50, it’s blatantly obvious that he’s still a big kid – always having a laugh, a drink and a good time. From him, in the very least, I’ve inherited the love of fast cars and the love of a good drink.
Both of us have seen plenty of the world: his birthday party was squeezed in between his trip to Singapore, and my trip to Egypt. We’ve had memorable airport experiences in Fiji and celebrated my graduation in the Netherlands with a fifty Euro bar; ending with some challenging cobbled Dutch streets.
My Mum and Dad have what is best described as a ‘close circle of friends’. Great people that they’ve known for a really long time and you can absolutely count on. However, ‘close’ implies small, which isn’t quite the case.
On the weekend I caught up with around fifty ‘close’ friends, people I’ve known my whole life, who have known my parents in business and socially, people from all walks of life and experiences.
It was a day full of stories, memorabilia and photos, of catching up over a beer and promising to see each other more often.
The amount of effort that was put in was phenomenal. There were your usual novelty gifts and gags, but it was the speeches that made the day. A long time family friend spoke with incredibly sincerity to say “I know almost everyone here, because I’ve met them through you, including my beautiful wife.”
I heard the words of a business partner, who spoke of my father’s attitude towards business, and why he was like no other.
I received a passing comment over the dessert table from a long time employee and friend of my parents. “I’ve been looking at all your family photos and they feel like my family photos because I’ve seen them all before. I think it’s because most of the time, because I’ve been there.”
These are all people who make up my extended family. People from every walk of life and background, people that support me and that always keep me grounded.
A few years ago, while my Mum was being interviewed, they asked me for my comments on growing up in the family that I have. I told him that I didn’t really know; for a very long time I thought everyone’s parents were like that, and that I never felt that my situation was out of the ordinary.
It always takes something special, like a birthday, to reflect on, and appreciate a life less ordinary.
Happy Birthday Dad.
posted by Jess @ 2:48 PM
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