My parents were older when they had me and my sister. In the 1970s many people had children in their 20s. My dad was 42. By that time he was a partner in a major accounting firm. He had a big office, everyone called him Mr Wilson and he seemed to be a big deal in his workplace. My father is a modest man and made no conspicuous displays of wealth. But I realised when I was 11 or 12 that none of my school friends lived in my neighbourhood, few people had two new cars, very few owned a second house or skied in the winter and no-one else travelled overseas. When I was a teenager, I discovered he owned quite a lot of commercial property too, which paid a good amount of rent.
My father grew up in a working class family in the Great Depression. His father died during WW2. He left school early to support his family and eventually studied part-time at university. He’s pretty unassuming. People always thought he was a farmer or, at least, that he worked outdoors. In fact, he loves the outdoors and spent most of his leisure time outside. But he worked in an office.
I realised as an adult that my dad had a highly successful career and used the money he earned for the benefit and enjoyment of his family. We had things and experiences that most of our friends didn’t. But, really, his greatest success was in supporting and encouraging my sister and me. He always wanted us to do our best and didn’t much mind what our results were so long as we tried hard. I think this had an important effect on me. I have built a successful career too, equivalent to his but in an entirely different field. He never pressured me and I didn’t feel any sense of competition. But he encouraged and supported me and expressed his pride in my sister and me. He took us skiing and hiking, helped with homework, took us to the museum and aquarium at the weekend and always watched our sports.
My father is a successful man. He had a successful career but, more importantly, he’s an excellent father. I’m lucky to still have him at age 95.
Here is a recent photo of me and my parents.
Credit: dave/ reddit
