*Now, I will be the first to say that this piece is a bit weak. And by weak, I mean if it was an actual physical object it would be soggy cardboard. Nevertheless, here is a piece on a father and Son, and how their relationship works. This is possibly the most exciting thing you will ever read…NOT!
PS- This was written circa late 2008*
Relationship of rivalry and respect
Steve Yeates and his son David Yeates
Steve Yeates, 52, has been working as a police officer and will soon retire after working for over 25 years. He lives with his wife Alison, 50, their daughters Sam, 23, and Holly, 21, and their son David, 19. David recently qualified as a Ski instructor on a three month course which cost around seven thousand pounds.
David-
Paying out three grand to let me go on my skiing course shows a lot about my dad. He rarely goes skiing himself yet he still helped me out as he could see that it was something I truly cared about.
The course totalled seven grand though, so it’s not like he could give me all the money. But I like that, the fact that he doesn’t do everything for me, and that I still have to work hard to get what I want. It’s nice to know that he’s there if I need him though, even if he said I owe him that three grand back. Maybe he’ll just forget, that’s what I hoping! That’s pretty unlikely however.
The great thing is that I know he won’t force the money out of me; he’ll just wait until I give it back of my own free will. I think that’s because in our family there is an element of trust. I like that the trust between us isn’t forced, it just helps to make everyone more relaxed.
I’m surprised that he can be relaxed at all considering that he has such a high pressure job. I mean he sometimes has had to work night shifts alongside day shifts, which I couldn’t even imagine doing myself. I’m not sure whether I could ever develop a work ethic like his.
It’s not all laid back between him and me of course. Sports are a common link between father and son, but in me and my Dads case it adds a competitive edge to our relationship. He thrashed me in Squash when I first played it but I slowly got better, joined a league and then was more than a match for him. It’s a shame I beat him in pretty much everything now, he’s getting too old now! He’d never admit that though, that would be admitting defeat, so thankfully that competitive spark still exists.
Despite the sporting rivalry we still help and support each other. One of my earliest, clearest memories of him is when he was cheering me on one of my first school’s sports days; I guess I could have only been about seven or eight. Thinking back he must have had to take the day of work, just to see me finish second in some skipping race. Considering I was skipping that’s even more impressive. I mean, he watched me skip, which isn’t the most masculine thing to be competing in. Yet he still turned up and supported me.
If I achieved everything my Dad has in my life I think I would be satisfied. I’d like to go one better than him and become a multi millionaire and own a mansion, but they’re long shots to be honest. I think my dad’s ahead of me so far in terms of his life achievements, so I’ll just keep competing with him and hopefully be as content with life as he is.
Steve-
If you asked me what words come to mind when talking of David, I would probably say something like ‘what a strange boy.’ I do mean that it the most affectionate way possible though!
I find it hard to criticize David to be honest. He’s so relaxed that sometimes I think that he almost doesn’t care about whether he does well in something or not. But deep down I know he wants to succeed, he has an inner competitiveness. His fixation on becoming a Ski Instructor came out of the blue for me but I could see he loved skiing when we went on holiday in France so at least he’s doing something that sparks him into life.
I couldn’t see David going into something that doesn’t interest him though; he can be quite stubborn sometimes. A good example is when he was in his school years. I mean, when he was doing his A-levels I tried to encourage him into working hard but he never seemed interested in doing well in stuff like physics, which he ended up failing. It’s strange, when he’s competing in sports he’s pretty driven, but education was pretty much a write off for him. Not that I’m not going to get irritated about it though. His two sisters are pretty academically driven so I think David helps to even that out with his interest in sports. If that even makes sense!
I’m glad David’s so laid back with stuff that others might treat deadly seriously though, and I’d like to think that part of that comes from me. As well as his sense of humour, which could be described as a little odd! I think as a comedic duo we’ve received our fair share of confused looks from people! But I think we’re pretty strange when it comes to most things in life. Like when I had to drive David to the hospital once because a ladder hit him on the head when he was in the middle of playing a football match. That could only happen to David or me to be honest.
Although David and I are pretty close competitively in sports I think highly charged emotional moments in our relationship are hard to pinpoint if I’m honest. I mean I was high with emotion the day when David was born, even though I’d been through the experience twice before. I think it’s because David and me try to keep ourselves so stress free that big emotions don’t arise too often. Maybe we’ll be all emotional when he’s older. I’ll be there if that ever happens.
Sport is the hobby we share the most, I think I’m responsible for fostering the epic sporting matches that happen between us. I helped him get into squash and he eventually got better than me, and I became the underdog when I played him! There’s always that chance of the tables being turned, and I think that’s why we both like playing each other in so many sports. As for who’s the best out of us? I have the better record over the years, but that’s being chipped away. Not that I’m getting too old, I would say it’s more a case that David is far too young!
(Picture- A father and Son, but in cartoon form. So nothing like the father and son detailed above then.)
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