Sir Elton John feels being a good parent is the “hardest thing in the world.” The 76-year-old singer shares sons Zachary, 12, and 10-year-old Elijah with husband David Furnish and he hopes his most lasting legacy is to be remembered as a “great dad” because he adores the “challenge” of raising his sons.
“I would like to be remembered as a great dad. So that my sons, when I’m gone can say, ‘God we had the best life with Dad. And we never felt frightened.’ The hardest thing in the world is to be a good parent, I think. And I never thought I would be a parent. But I love the challenge of it. It gives me so much joy and pleasure to be with those boys and David. It’s just phenomenal,” he told Radio Times magazine.
Being a parent has also allowed Elton to become a part of his local community for the first time. He said, “I’ve lived here since 1975 and I didn’t know anybody in Old Windsor until I had Zachary. How crazy is that? They’re always outside, they have their own little community with their friends.”
“I’m so glad about that. I never used to be part of the community until I had the kids. And that feels good too. It’s just part and parcel of how life gives you the most wonderful things when you’re not looking for them. It’s just bountiful, what’s happened to me.”
And the “Tiny Dancer” singer has “never been happier.” He said, “I’ve never been happier. Who can say that? And after all I’ve been through – and I’ve been through a lot. I mean, Jesus Christ! To get to this stage of life, you have to be humble, and to [think] back to being a recovering addict, a recovering alcoholic, which taught me so much. I go to bed at night thinking, ‘How lucky am I?’ “
