My life changed quite dramatically (in many senses of the word)..
It’s been quite a while since I’ve written anything on this blog relating to parenting, for all sorts of reasons. I’ve been busy (as should have been quite evident) working and self promoting, for a start. I’ve also now got children who deserve a little privacy, and constantly writing about them is perhaps not the way to go about that.
Still, eight years ago, everything changed when Miss 8 came along. Not that she was unexpected, of course. It’s rather hard to not notice when your wife is pregnant, but still the circumstances surrounding her birth were rather extraordinary.
While small details have dimmed over time, and I can’t recall every split second of the last eight years in crystal clear detail, the events of my daughter’s birth are rather burned into my head. The car that wouldn’t start at 3am. Heading next door to wake them up for an emergency hospital trip. Realising they weren’t in. Heading over the road. Getting a lift from people who’d only moved in the week before. The dangerously premature birth. And my first view of my lovely daughter, who was sadly struggling for breath so much she spent the first four days of her life screaming with every gulp of air. Eight years ago, almost to the minute as I write this.
Thankfully, all that is rather ancient history now. It feels like a lot longer than eight years, though. It’s a bit of a cliche to say that everything changes when you become a parent, but it’s absolutely true at the same time. I can recall who I was and what I did prior to that, but as much as I’ve watched my daughter grow up, it’s also made some significant (and excellent) changes in me.
Happy Birthday, Miss Eight.