Michael Chose His Own Path
No two children are ever the same. Nor do they need to be. Every child has a character of his own. His own dreams. His own way of looking at life. When people speak to me about my children, the conversation often begins with Marco. That is understandable. His life and death left an indelible mark on my heart and on this book.
But that must never give the impression that Michael holds a less important place in my life. He too is my son. His place in my heart is also unique. And his story also deserves to be told with the same love and sincerity. Michael always chose his own path. His character was different from his brother's.
While Marco constantly sought new challenges and dreamed of building companies and projects himself, Michael chose a life that offered him more structure and stability. That choice required no less courage. Quite the opposite. It takes courage to follow your own path without allowing yourself to be guided by the expectations of others. As his father, I always admired that quality in him. I never wanted to shape my children in my own image.
I did not want them to repeat my life. I wanted only for them to become honest people. People capable of carrying responsibility. Who would move through life with respect. And who would feel free to make their own choices. After studying at the hotel school in Hasselt, Michael chose a career in aviation. He became a flight attendant with Sabena. I quickly sensed that he had found a world that suited him.
He came into contact with people from different countries and cultures. He traveled to places that, for many others, were only names on a map. Every journey broadened his horizons. Every encounter taught him something new. The world became his field of work. But more importantly... he had chosen that path himself. I watched him with pride.
Not because he wore an impressive uniform or traveled to distant places.
But because I saw that he was trying to find his own place. I felt that pride again when Michael himself became a father. With Helena and Andreas, two precious new lives came to enrich our family. Michael then learned for himself what every parent discovers sooner or later. That a child transforms your life completely. That from that moment onward, love and responsibility can no longer be separated. And that as a parent, you can guide, protect, and advise...
but can never live in place of your children. Many more pages could be written about Michael's life. But not every part of his story belongs to me, nor is it mine to tell. He has a right to his own memories. His own choices. His own truth. What I can say, however, is that he taught me an important lesson. That the love between a father and son does not depend on their following the same road.
A child does not have to realize his father's dreams. He does not have to take the same risks. Share the same ambitions. Or look toward the future in the same way. A parent's greatest wish should not be for his child to walk in his footsteps. His greatest wish should be for that child to find the courage to leave his own footprints. Michael is not Marco. And Marco was not Michael.
Neither of them ever had to be. They were two sons, each with his own character, his own place, and his own meaning in my life. When I think about Michael today, I therefore see not only the boy who grew up within our family. I see the man who made his own choices. The father of Helena and Andreas. And my son, who continued following his own path.
That path may not always have led in the direction I myself would have chosen. But that is not what matters. It was his path. And that is precisely why I am proud of him.
