Recently, I met someone whose soon-to-be ex-wife kept him away from his baby daughter for 2 years as leverage to be used against him during the divorce. I could not stop myself from giving him a hug. Or from tearing up myself simply imagining what it would be.
I remember listening to a stand-up comic describe his thoughts when his newborn son was given to him to hold (‘I realised that I would die for this little man, if he ever needed me to’) as compared to when his newborn daughter was (‘I knew at that instant, I’d kill for her if she needed me to’), and I immediately thought how all fathers of little girls would identify with that feeling.
But, coming back to my friend who’d been separated from his 8yo daughter by a vindictive mother and other similar stories I have seen and heard around me recently, I realise how cruel and unfair the world is and how fortunate I have been, even with so many failed relationships behind me and all the horrible knocks and hard breaks I have had life give me.
I cannot be grateful enough to fate and serendipity that I have got more than I deserve (of both highs of wealth & lows of spirit, stunning victories totally unasked for & debilitating defeats entirely undeserved, and shocking betrayals by loved ones & infinite benevolence from strangers) every day in every way. I am indeed fortune’s favoured son. The luckiest man alive.
