In a great way to celebrate Father’s Day, Serenitas’ over-50s lifestyle communities across the nation joined forces by sharing their fondest memories of their dads, their best dad jokes and some fatherly tips and tricks.
The Book of Dad was gifted to all Serenitas homeowners.
“After the success of our Mother’s Day cookbook, we wanted to recognise the importance of fathers in our lives. The Book of Dad is our way of celebrating the many different ways dads are active and influential in our lives, all underpinned with good humour. It’s a way we can say thank you to those dads still with us and pay tribute to those whose memories are etched forever,” said Serenitas CEO Rob Nichols.
The Book of Dad features heartfelt recollections of homeowners’ fathers or their own experience of fatherhood, sharing many life lessons and memories, from holiday adventures to acts of kindness.
Here’s some dad tales
Jenn McLeod, who lives at Latitude 25 Lifestyle Village in Nikenbah, on QLD’s Fraser Coast, said her father, Don Lewis, is an inspiration and role model in her life. Now, at 92, he still has his wild sense of adventure.
“I think I inherited Dad’s drive and can-do attitude,” she says.
“He is, in fact, the reason my bucket list is bulging today. I have ticked off a few: buying a café (having only ever drunk coffee), buying a 25-foot fifth wheeler (having only ever towed a box trailer) and hitting the road full-time as Jenn J McLeod, Australia’s Nomadic Novelist (having run out of family and friends to fictionalise).”
Lawrence Liebetrau resides in Busselton, on the southwest tip of Western Australia, and credits his love of a fit and healthy lifestyle to his father.
“One day while listening to the commentary on Comrades Ultra Marathon in Africa, I told my dad right then and there that I would run this great race one day. He smiled and said he would be proud if I managed to complete this world-famous and difficult marathon,”
Lawrence went on to run nine Comrades Ultra Marathons and over 60 marathons in total.
June Eastwood from National Lifestyle Villages’ The Outlook at Albany, a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, tells of her father’s generosity as she and her husband worked hard to establish a viable farm on uncleared land back in 1955. Her father Hebert would turn up unannounced with gifts such as a brand-new 32-volt Lighting Plant, a shiny blue floor polisher, a red Mix Master and a second-hand engine-driven Simpson washing machine.
“He was always looking out for me and trying to make our lives a little bit easier,” says June.