My People - Den

Den is my old man, my Dad.

He's not perfect my old boy. I remember him having a hell of a temper when I was a kid and he'd only have to look at my brothers and I like he was pissed off and we'd sh*t ourselves. Then as he got older, he softened up... and as I matured I started to develop a proper relationship with the old boy. I remember the first conversation I had with my Dad about a girl. I was 14 years old and I think the old man was a little shocked but he was very cool about it all. Then as a teenager and a young adult my brothers and I got into cars where we were spending most weekends hanging out with Dad in the garage; and we all became very close. When I married my beautiful wife Lauren, in my speech I told everyone that Dad always led by example with us boys. He showed us how to be a man just by being a man. That's Dad.

Before the beautiful Lauren (or Larry, as I call her) made me the luckiest man alive by becoming my wife... I went through a divorce the 'first time around' when I was 25 years old. I got married young, had been married for 3 years and when the separation came... it came out of nowhere; really put me on my ass. All of a sudden I was on my own. The divorce and the reasons behind it aren't important anymore... but the relationship with my Dad is. The very next day, my Mum and Dad drove the 4 hours to my house where my Dad spent the next week with me. We talked, cried, drank coffee and listened to music. All the while, my Dad was pointing me in the right direction... helping me get back on my feet without me realising it. Talking me through everything, helping me turn a home originally meant for two into a home for me in my next phase of life. Not to mention helping me with the all important packing up my soon-to-be-ex-wife's things. My Dad was not just getting me to do the right things, but to think the right way. At a time when I was all over the place, he got me focused on using my energy and emotions for positive, not negative. He made sure all my efforts were to handle the situation with dignity, maturity and most importantly to move forward. I'd had my heart ripped out by someone I was married to, but with my Dad's influence... I handled it all like a man. My whole family was there to support me through all of that, but it was my Dad who was the difference. He's an amazing man.

My Dad. My old man. One of my people.