Dear Dad,

Happy Father’s Day Dad

As I get older I find myself appreciating people and things a good deal more. I often sit and reflect on all the good things I have in my life and I sometimes neglect to say thank you and give credit where it is due.

So today on this Father’s Day, I want to say Thank you Dad. Thank you for guiding me and molding me to be the person I am today. You are not a man of many words and yet by your example you have taught us many important life lessons. In you we have seen a work ethic second to none, and you continue to inspire us to work hard and honestly at what we do. You have given me such wonderful opportunities and I am very grateful.

You made huge sacrifices for us when you were still young, giving up a good corporate job so that we could grow up carefree in the country side. You sacrificed many of the finer things in life that your peers enjoyed in order to put us through a good school. You quietly sat through my teenage years gently guiding me every time I stepped off the path and you kept believing in me and steering me back onto the right track. I know that there were extremely frustrating and difficult times yet you were always firm, consistent, and true to your word.

After school you encouraged me to travel and go explore the world beyond our borders. You gave me enough life lessons to survive on my own but you didn’t spoil the fun and you let me learn some things on my own. When times were tough I always knew you were just a phone call away and that you would be able to reassure me even if I was half way across the world.

You believed in me and encouraged me to have a full go at life. You supported and encouraged me to study at Rhodes and you sat and listened to me when I told you I was pulling out of the course. You explained very clearly the impact this choice would make on my life and you let me decide on my own. You offered to help me out with work and encouraged my studies. You threw me in the deep end and stood right beside me ready to help should the need arise. You challenged me and taught me far more about life than any normal career would have. You treated me fairly without spoiling me. When the time came for me to move on to look for new experiences you once again encouraged me to walk my own path and warned me of the challenges of the big corporate world. Once in the big city you were a constant source of knowledge and encouragement to see me through the difficult times. When the chance arose for me to return home you were very quick to encourage me back and it was then that I realized we had a common dream to build our family business. You have led the way and together we have achieved a wonderful balance of work and play whilst growing together as father and son. I am grateful that we are able to work side by side and still sit and enjoy a beer together after a good day at the office.

When I was facing the difficult decision to get separated and file for divorce, you cross questioned me and made me think long and hard about who I was as a person. There were often times when I thought that you were not seeing my side of the story and that you were only concerned with keeping the peace regardless of the emotional expense. However the truth is you knew that I had to leave no stone unturned before making this decision. This was not the same chat that we had years earlier about me dropping out of university, this was the real deal and you were going to make absolutely sure that I had checked, double checked and removed any string of doubt about my decision. You were dead against me right up until the point where I had finally made my choice and then you were back on my side knowing that you had done your job as a father and tested your son to make sure that he was making the correct choice given what he had at the time. The past two and a bit years have been really tough on all of us. You have watched your children hurt, and even more heartbreaking you watched your grandchildren hurt. Yet in spite of all of this you have stood up and brought us all closer together. You have lead quietly from the front, always encouraging us, always checking to make sure we operating with integrity and always there when we need you.

Thank you for being an outstanding Father and Friend to me. You have taught me well what it means to be a Dad, and I will do my very best to be one up on you because I know you would not expect anything less of me.

Our journey has lasted my entire life, and the longer our journey gets the more I am enjoying it. Life does not go on forever and one day this journey will come to an end. Until then I will cherish each moment we share, every memory we make and do my best to be the greatest version of myself in honor of you.

I love you Dad.