Authorationology

It's strange, you know. Looking at this blog and realising that it's been something I've been doing almost every day for such a long time. I'm having a crisis at the moment, not sure what to write to you about, knowing that I want to WRITE you something tonight instead of posting another photo (of which there are many).

I guess that, after your first (almost) month of life, I should feel like there's something profound or wise that I should say to you - some pearl of wisdom that I should be able to produce from thin air.

The bad news, punkin, is that I think only the dads in movies, you know the ones with five scriptwriters, can do that. I think that the only pearls of wisdom I have for you will come with time, and they will be things that I will tell you that have served me well in the past.

Many, many, many times when I was growing up, I remember one, both or all of my parents saying to me that it "wasn't so long" since they'd been a teenager, and thinking that they couldn't POSSIBLy have any conception about what it was like, after all, they were teenagers in the SIXTIES for crying out loud. I can tell you now, that at 31, it doesn't seem like a very long time ago that I was 17, and no, you can't borrow my car.

The things that I will tell you as you grow up will always be designed to help you on the long and difficult journey to adulthood, to give you hints that push you towards the right answers to the stuff that you have to figure out yourself. Stuff like 'don't ever quit a job until you have another one lined up', and 'it's probably not a good idea to take that apart in the living room'.

I don't know what trials and tribulations you'll face in the years ahead, but I want you to trust me when I tell you that your mum and I have faced similar stuff. As have your assorted Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Aunts (of both the Great and Fabulous varieties), Uncles, Godparents and most of the people you meet on the way to the supermarket. Being a kid is hard work, sure, but it's a walk in the park compared to being a parent.

Love you.