Now that I’m a father, Father’s Day has become much more meaningful. My own father used to tell me, “Edmond, you’ll understand one day,” and now I have to say that I’m starting to.
Being a father is simultaneously the best thing I’ve ever done and the hardest job I’ve ever had. Providing for and protecting my family is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a father.
My father, Harry, has been and continues to be a major source of inspiration and wisdom in my life. While there have been many times we wholeheartedly disagreed with each other, we’ve always come back to a mutual understanding of one another eventually.
A father takes on many roles: provider, protector, leader, teacher, cheerleader, helper and even a silly playtime friend. I’ve seen my father, as well as my father’s father, take on each of those roles.
My grandfather’s name was Edmond; when I was born, he insisted that my parents name me Edmond as well. He passed away when I was just nine years old, but for all the time I spent with him, he was always telling us stories and teaching me new things.
For anyone who’s been in my office, you may have spotted some model trains – I got my love for model trains from him. I keep some in my office in his honour.
My grandfather wore hearing aids, and I recall a few times seeing him reach behind his ears and make adjustments to his hearing aids. At the time, I didn’t understand what he was doing or why, but it became clear to me afterwards that he was either adjusting his volume control or just turning the hearing aids off to prevent him from getting overwhelmed by all the noise when we all got together for dinner with the family.
If you ask anyone if there’s such a thing as a perfect pair of hearing aids, I’m sure their answer will be no. However good these new hearing aids are—and the technology has improved in leaps and bounds since my grandfather’s hearing aids—the weakest link is, unfortunately, us.
Our ears become damaged for various reasons of events, activities, illnesses and trauma, and our hearing aids can only ever work within our capabilities. That being said, when we need them, hearing aids reconnect us with our people and can enable us to live with significantly more positivity and well-being.
Thanks to my grandfather’s hearing aids, he was able to bond with my siblings and me, and for that, I am thankful.
I hope that all my fellow fathers and grandfathers had a very happy Father’s Day.
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