by Lara
I think that it’s fair to say that Dad wasn’t always the easiest person to persuade. Growing up, I couldn’t help but be a little envious of friends that could get their parents to bend to their whims, as that wasn’t something I was accustomed to! Therefore, when dad did step outside of his comfort zone to make us happy, it really meant a lot.
There are a couple of memories of Dad going outside of his comfort zone to please me that stick out in my mind. One is when I was backpacking around the world in my gap year. Back in those long-ago times there was no FaceTime and international calls were a premium. I would make occasional calls but mostly wrote letters back home to let Mum and Dad know where I was and that I was still alive. It was always Mum that devotedly wrote back and so I put in a request for a letter from Dad. When it arrived, he admitted that it was a challenge as his personal letter writing had been limited to childhood thank-you notes! He claimed that he had not written a letter since. I was truly touched to be the recipient of an ultra-rare long handwritten letter from adult John!
I hesitated about the appropriateness of including my wedding story in this recollection given how the marriage turned out! However, my dad dressing up in a smart suit, which he had to rent because the one that he owned was from decades long ago, is definitely worth noting. He really stepped outside of his comfort zone when he agreed to give a speech and I know it wasn’t something that he was particularly excited to do. With a lot of help from Mum with the composing, he delivered a great speech with just the right amount of sentiment and dad humour. His “drop the mic” line being that he saw my decision to marry and live permanently in America less like losing a daughter and more like gaining a California timeshare. He of course had the whole room laughing.
As we all know, trying to please Nat isn’t easy. He has always been such a high maintenance individual. Alright, the truth is Nat was always the easy-going child – so it made me laugh when Dad told me that he had decided to shave off his beard because Nat had been complaining about how prickly it was when Dad kissed him goodnight. This was an act of grooming that I never thought I’d see, having only ever known him with his trademark caveman/yeti look. The real comedy value came with the revelation that Nat had burst into tears upon seeing a beardless dad because he looked so very different. Nat was not a fan of change! Needless to say, the beardless dad era was extremely short lived!
Luckily for Nat and others that aren’t too keen on change, Dad really didn’t alter too much over the years. We’ve lost a piece of history and a relic of simpler times with him. His steadfast nature and genuine efforts to make us happy are fondly remembered and cherished.
