Parents
My dad is awesome
'My father, without the slightest doubt was the most marvellous and exciting father any boy ever had.'
In complete agreement with Danny (Danny the Champion of the world, Roald Dahl). My father was and is, the most marvellous and exciting father any girl or boy ever had. :) I hope all my readers can say the same thing.
From the moment he held me for the first time as a tiny baby, there has been this amazing bond between us. At a church meditation service we were asked to remember a moment that changed our lives. He remembered that moment. He had tears in his eyes when he told me. He was the first person in the world to hold me.
We are very similar in many ways, passionate about Literature and Theatre and good stories. He used to read to my brother and I every night before we went to bed. We would often beg him to read another chapter, because there was just nothing better than snuggling up with him and hearing him immortalise all the Roald Dahl and Dick King Smith Books you can think of, Stig of the Dump (which he loves), Lord of the Rings, David Copperfield (now my favourite book because of Dad) and other brilliant books. He would do all the voices, and get really excited in the exciting bits. Sometimes he would fall asleep when he was reading, and his voice would go slower and slower, so we would jump on him and beg him to carry on!
My dad can tell a story like no one else I know. He grips adults and children alike with his stories about his adventures in Chile, about his childhood, funny stories about when me and Tom were little, and interesting and useless facts that he gleans from goodness knows where.
My dad can be very silly. We love telling him so. He finds lots of things funny and has a wicked sense of humour. He will say something slightly rude and then pretend he didn't mean anything rude by it, and that it's "your mind, Liz!". He will put on his "Medieval Dance Music" and persuade me to make up silly dances to it with him in the living room. When my dad laughs, it's rich and warm and comes from deep inside him. It's so contagious you can't help but laugh with him. When we all start laughing together, all five of us, it's like fireworks, and dad is the gunpowder.
My dad likes mornings. He gets up at stupid o'clock every day, and sometimes earlier if he's going off bird watching somewhere. My dad is always cheerful in the morning, and whistles or hums to his loud classical music. My dad used to sit me on his knee and move my arms so that I would be "conducting" the orchestra when we listened to classical music together. It was especially good when the piece in question was the 1812 Overture!
My dad likes to take us out a lot, on long walks, drinking in nature (pretty awesome when your home is Chile!) We used to go on boat rides, exploring in forests, finding interesting creatures - he would tell us what they were called and some interesting fact about them. I owe my love of nature and animals to my dad.
My dad can sometimes be very scary. A lot of people say they think he looks stern and strict, and he is, but he is also marvellously gentle and loving, like a Big Friendly Giant. He reminds me of God in some ways. Fair and firm, and a little bit unpredictable and wild sometimes, but good. :) A child coming out of church one day turned to his mum and actually asked her if my dad was God. He must have made a big impression :)
When my dad used to preach in Spanish he would sometimes use the words that me and my brother learnt at school which weren't altogether appropriate for the pulpit. It was very embarassing. He still likes to embarass us by doing funny walks in the middle of the street or by pretending to be the "invisible man". We're not embarassed anymore though, we just think he's brilliant.
I love my dad. I only hope I can be half the parent he and mum have both been to me.
'When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important: a stodgy parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is sparky.' - Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl.