Our children are my priority. I live for them and love them completely.

I’d like to say I showed our boys how to kick a footy, play tennis, barrack for the right football team. But that was their beautiful Mum. She lay the best foundation for our boys such that they are now happy, stable and intelligent gentlemen of whom I am so proud. This foundation assisted me so much when we suddenly lost Mum because I knew I just had to follow that plan, that ethos, that humour.

At that time, I also realised, amongst a thousand thoughts and emotions, that I was completely responsible for our boys and they were completely reliant on me! I’d been loving my role as a Dad for 12 years and suddenly realised that I had to step up. I had to do and be everything for our beautiful boys who had just lost the most important person in their lives, their Mum.

Our youngest was still in primary school and our oldest was about to start secondary school, so I took them to school and got to know many of the parents. We learnt quickly that there was always someone worse off and someone better off than ourselves. So, there was no point in self-pity – we moved on and look forward to future. We have great memories and continue to honour their Mum, my wife.

We’ve travelled, graduated, we’ve learnt to drive, done the 2:00am pick-ups from parties and found another few mates who also needed a ride home. I have to say that I have so much more respect for my very quiet and patient Dad after I attempted to teach the boys to drive as he taught me!

Over the years there has been much love and laughter, and many tears have been shed and we’ve done that together. In the coming years there will be more love, more laughter and more tears, and we’ll do that together too – that’s the richness of life and the strength of family and being together.

In recent years both our boys have found beautiful and loving partners and bought their own homes. Whilst our family home is now much more quiet (and clean!), I get so much simple joy when our boys call and ask to borrow the trailer, lawn mower, etc.

How comforting is it to have our children in loving relationships? It warms my heart to see them all happy, and when they’re okay, I don’t have a care in the world.

We’ve done it! We got through the changing nappies, sleepless nights, toilet training, first day at school, the teenage years, more sleepless nights! There’s so much more to tell, so many memories, so many stories.

My hope is that my beautiful boys have the opportunity to experience that instant and ongoing love that I’ve had.

David Cotton
Josephite Companion