Shoutout Sunday #3: My Fantastic Family

My two brothers - Sam (centre) and Daniel (right) - and I during Sam's "Passing Out" parade for the Royal Navy on June the 6th 2014.

This isn't just a shoutout for one person - it never really could be, because I wouldn't want to pick one family member over another to write about - but a shoutout for a collection of people, an amazing collection of people: my family. Every member of my family is unique and fantastic in their own way, and I'm going to write about each member of my main family (the Parfett family) and why they're so special, as well as writing about the beautiful people that we've sadly lost from our family, and bits about other members of my family.

My dad, Michael Parfett - I couldn't not use this silly picture of him
from when we three sons took him out for his birthday in 2013!

I have to start by talking about my dad, Michael, the guy who is currently sunning it up in glorious Mexico whilst I'm at home in the not-so-glorious Reading making sure his colourful fish stay alive, and that I stay alive! But, in all honesty, nobody deserves a holiday more than him, because he works his backside into the ground, having run his own engraving business for as long as I've been alive (28 years!); a business which I'm proud to say I have been a little piece of for the last 27 months! My dad is the reason that I currently have a roof over my head and a place to sleep, but it doesn't stop there, as, like I just said, he gave me a job - and a purpose in life - at his company, which, when the work is there, works out best for the both of us. He's a truly marvellous, loyal, hard-working human being, often putting others before himself, and I'm proud to call him my dad (Although, I'm obviously proud of all of my famliy, so I'm going to try and not use that word too much!). My dad (well, both parents, to be honest, but he's the one I still go to live matches with) is the reason I have always loved Reading Football Club, having been brought up to be loyal, and I couldn't be happier than supporting my hometown football club, as it means that when they win and are successful, the thrill and joy is real.

My mum, Julie, during a trip with her new fella,
David Brown

My mum has been a wonderful mother to me throughout my life, doing everything from looking after me whenever I was ill as a kid, through to being a shoulder to cry on when girls have left me (or just not been interested in me in the first place!). She currently has a rewarding job helping those in various forms of need at Reading College, as well as in other locations. I'm so glad that she seems to be in a happy place right now, with an amazing job and relationship, the latter being with the lovely David Brown. A caring, beautiful, strong woman, who has been there for me whenever I've needed her, and not just with what you'd expect from a mother during your life - like cooked dinners, clean clothes, rides to school, help with homework, etc., when you're growing up - but even going beyond the call of duty in any way she could to make me happy and healthy. Here's something she did for me recently, for example: she bought me tickets to a Gerard Way show, leading to me managing to meet the ex-lead singer of my all-time favourite band, My Chemical Romance! She knew how huge that would be for me (and it truly was one of the best nights of my life, and I got to meet some of my MCR-loving Facebook friends for the first time!), and she got me tickets the minute they went on sale; admittedly, I too was trying to get them, not knowing she was also trying, but to get a phone call telling me I was going to be going to see one of my heroes was a moment I'll never forget, let alone the actual concert day/night itself!

My two brothers - Daniel and Sam, seen in the picture at the top of this blog - are awesome. Daniel has been a gamer friend for as long as I can remember, dating all the way back to playing the original Super Mario Bros. together on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), to playing games like FIFA 2015 on the PlayStation 4 nowadays, and he is a huge reason as to why I fell in love with Nintendo, a company that I still adore to this day (even though he did move on to Sony himself). As I currently live with him, he has the ability to make my day, even when I'm doing nothing! You see, it's all about the little things: he'll make me cups of tea (you haven't ever met anybody who likes tea as much as Daniel!), sometimes bring home chocolate/sweets for us to enjoy whilst having a gaming session, and the prime example is my birthday this year. I was ill all around my birthday, meaning I couldn't do a few things I had arranged to do, but he stayed in with me, played games, bought me a couple of brilliant Nintendo-related presents, and bought me a takeaway of my choice; my birthday would've been me just sat around being ill if not for him! He cares, and you can tell he does, and that means the world to me. He is also a very hard worker, getting up incredibly early, 6 times a week, to be a postman for the Royal Mail.

Sam is in the Royal Navy - it just has to be said as the first thing about him because it is just a phenomenal thing to be doing, and everybody who knows him is incredibly proud of him. He's also been a gamer friend of mine back in the day, with us often enjoying the multiplayer (and sometimes co-op campaign) antics of Call of Duty, Halo, TimeSplitters 2 and 3, etc., and some of our late night gaming sessions, when we lived together, helped me through some tough times! None of the family see him as much anymore, but that's because he's getting on with his life, and we're all just really happy for him (whilst also missing him!), as all his hard work, dedication, and commitment has paid off, as he's now doing something that he really loves.

Nanny Bye (picture above, with my grandad Bye) and
Gary Bye (picture below), both of whom are sadly no
longer with us. Thanks to Emily Bye for these two photos

I have sadly lost three family members during my lifetime: Michael Parfett, who's my grandad on my dad's side (as if you couldn't have guessed that from the name!); Gary Bye, who's one of my uncles (on my mum's side of the family; her only brother); and Nanny (Gladys) Bye, who's one of my nans (on my mum's side). I never really knew my grandad Parfett very well, unfortunately, and he passed on in my last year of primary school, so I was pretty young at the time, too. Too young to understand death and the feelings of loss, perhaps - or priorities, at least - as I remember that I went to school instead of the funeral because it was our final proper day and we were playing games; I still can't remember if that was 100% my choice or not, but I know it's something I wouldn't ever go on to do again! One memory I have of Michael is that we used to call him "grandad with the pigeons" because he lived in a flat where pigeons would come to his balcony all the time! He was a nice man, and, if he had some, he would always give us kids chocolate when we went around to his place!

I lost my uncle, Gary Bye, in 2003 at the age of 44, and it's proof of how life can take you at any time, no matter your age, as he just fell down at work one day with a brain haemorrhage, and never came out of hospital, dying very soon. Not a day goes by where I don't miss this unforgettable man, and he should've had so much more time on this planet. Genuinely one of the most kindest, excitable, phenomenal human beings I've ever known, and you couldn't ever be sad in his presence. He helped teach me how to be a goalkeeper, something which I was for many years of my life - as was he - as I used to always love playing football, as well as watching it. Even to this day, hearing the two songs that were played at his funeral - "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler and "My Love" by Westlife - still send a shiver down my spine and make me think of my amazing uncle Gary. I also know that he's looking down on his amazing daughter (and one of my cousins), Emily, and is very proud of her.

Then in 2005 I lost my nan, Gladys Bye. She got struck down with lung cancer, but I always remember a story my grandad told me: before she knew she had it, she was still riding bicycles with her him up hills and stuff, showing just how strong and unbelievable this woman really is! I remember getting the message that she wasn't going to make it through the night, so I got the opportunity to go and say goodbye at the hospital, and, whilst I'm glad I got that opportunity, it also showed just how nasty cancer really is, as it's like you're talking with a different person, to be honest, so I choose instead to remember all the brilliant memories I have with my nanny Bye. I've never met a nicer person in my life! That's not me exaggerating, either, as this is a woman who would put a smile on everybody's faces, and have the kettle on the second you walked in her house, as well as a snack of some sort. Speaking of which, I will never forget my nan's food that she made: fruit cakes, mince pies, lemon meringue pies, apple pies, etc. - shops just couldn't compare to these. For example, even when I have a mince pie nowadays, I think to myself, "they're not as good as my nan used to make!" I'll also never forget the trips that nanny Bye, grandad Bye, and me used to take to places, like: going to lovely places to go for walks through woods and by lakes; or to beautiful cities and towns to do some shopping, like in Salisbury, Devizes, and Winchester. Ever since she's been gone, I still make sure I do these sorts of things with grandad Bye occasionally.

When it comes to everybody else in my family, I don't really see them very often, unfortunately. I see my grandad Bye when he pops around to say hi, and when we go out for some nice days out, but it's been a while since I've properly seen everybody else (apart from seeing Sara Phillips at the Reading v Arsenal FA Cup semi-final, and Ben Phillips when he comes around sometimes). I owe my grandad so much, he's literally done so much for me, which is why I now pay for some things (like lunch or dinner) every time we go out, even though it'll never make up for all the kind-hearted things he's done for me, but that just shows what a lovely guy he really is. One of my awesome cousins, Chloe Baker (previously a "Stroud"), has been happily married to a brilliant guy (Nat) for many years, and they have two beautiful kids (Bethany and Billy). Another cousin, Claire Lilley (again, previously "Stroud"), has a lovely kid (Ethan), too. Two of my cousins - Katy Phillips and Joe Stroud - are currently engaged, too, and I hope they go on to have fantastic marriages. My cousin Sara Phillips has a brilliant job working in the health sector, and her mum (my auntie), Roz Phillips, used be in that field, too.

So, yeah, my family are an awesome and beautiful bunch, and I'm lucky to have them in my life. Hopefully I get to soon see the people I haven't seen in a long time - like, for example, my cousin Emily lives over in Northern Ireland, and I haven't seen her since 2012 - and I just want to take this moment to wish them all the best with their future endeavours. I love you all! ^-^ <3

Top photo: all of my cousins, and Daniel (Sam wasn't there), back in August 2012, which was probably the last time we were all together! Middle photo: Roz Phillips (my auntie) with two of my cousins, Emily Bye (left) and Katy Phillips (right). Bottom photo: Stella and Rob Stroud, my auntie and uncle.