Rachel Tompkins, 44, loves having a close relationship with her father
WORDS: RACHEL TOMPKINS
Sitting in the car with my dad recently, we giggled together conspiratorially, taking it in turns blasting the horn. We were ready to leave to go out for lunch, but my mum was still inside getting ready.
‘You two never change,’ Mum laughed as she eventually hurried out of the house to join us. Dad and I are always 10 minutes early for everything, while Mum has always been more relaxed. Whenever we were going anywhere growing up, Dad and I would sit in the car beeping the horn until Mum and my younger sister bustled out of the house, shaking their heads in frustration. Their reactions made us laugh more.
SPECIAL CONNECTION
I’ve always been close to my dad James, now 73, and even now, as a mother-of-two in my 40s, I’m still very much a daddy’s girl.
It started when I was a toddler and my mum Stephanie went into hospital to have my sister. At 21 months, I’d never been away from Mum, but I had so much fun with Dad that by the time Mum returned a week later, I’m told I’d become his shadow, following him everywhere. Of course I still adored Mum, but Dad and I just seemed to have a special connection.
After that, whenever I wanted something like a yogurt from the fridge or someone to tie my shoelace, I’d shout, ‘Daddy do!’ only content with Dad doing it. When I got upset about having dirty school shoes, Dad not only polished them daily, he cleaned the soles so they looked new. In my eyes, Dad was a hero.
When I got my first boyfriend at 15, it was impossible for him to keep up with the high bar Dad had set. ‘What football team do you support?’ Dad – an accomplished player and massive Oxford United fan – asked. When the reply
