Father and son reunion

I raced to the bus stop on site, just catching the bus as it pulled out for the airport. The guys were heading home for R & R and I could tell by the familiar buzz of chatter and friendly banter they were in good spirits.

 

As I grabbed the last remaining seat and reached for my seat belt, I noticed the big, burly man behind me putting his mobile phone to his ear.

 

‘Good luck’, I thought, knowing how poor the reception can be out here in the bush!

 

In a loud booming voice I heard, “Hi buddy how are you?”

 

“What have you been up to today mate?”

 

“Wow you’ve had a busy day just like Daddy”

 

“That’s awesome mate”

 

How special, I thought,guessing this was his young son being spoken to. I bet that little boy would love knowing he’s Dad’s ‘mate’ and ‘buddy’!

 

I heard him say, “Ok well you need to get to bed now and have a good sleep. We are going to kick that football around tomorrow and you need lots of energy for that”.

 

I imagined that Mum was probably struggling to get this youngster to bed.

 

The excitement in Dad’s voice was now evident and louder than ever he said,

 

“ I can’t wait to do that buddy”

 

“ And hey, Daddy will be there in the morning when you wake up and he’ll take you to school”

 

Almost shouting, this father finally said;

 

“ I love you so much mate and I can’t wait to see you. I love you. Bye buddy”

 

Hush had descended on those close by. In those few moments talking on the phone, no one else existed for that Dad. He was totally caught up in the excitement of seeing his son and most importantly showing how much he loved him. He didn’t care who heard him. And we all felt that love and how absolutely present that Dad was for his little boy. Father and son; that oh so important and special relationship.  And as this big, miner put the phone down and looked around, we all clapped.