If you’re not a grandparent, you probably find this stuff rather dull, but I wanted to capture a few thoughts on how the year has gone so far.
First off, it DOES go fast. When I see photos of her from the early days, it’s hard to believe they are of the same person! Back then, with all due respect, she was essentially a fragile potato. She slept. She slurped. And she pooped. As I remember telling my mate Lachy, it’s like looking after a real life tamagotchi (I stand by that!).
Now she is walking, talking (well, saying dada when she points to me, but also dogs and trees, so who knows) and developing her own little personality. It’s cool to see. Plus she’s huge!
Ky asked me my favourite thing about Octavia, and my answer was easy; I love that she’s healthy. A good friend of mine has had the hardest time with miscarriages and a child passing due to prematurity; a girl I went to school with lost her child due to SIDS. Even spending a few days in the hospital near the NICU made you realise that there by the grace of god go I. Sure, she has a runny nose every now and then, plus a few bumps and scrapes, but knowing she is happy and healthy is all I really care about.
Finally, what has surprised me about this whole experience? For me, it has been the complete absence of FOMO. I don’t get to go out late and drink beers with the guys, or sleep in, or plan a holiday to go backpacking around Europe in a stupor. And that’s completely fine! I still love getting together with friends, and from time to time I do enjoy getting a little litty mctitty. But if people want to go out on a Tuesday to 2am, have fun! But I’m very happy being in bed at 9:30 doing some Duolingo.
Being a slightly older dad, and having the opportunity to do a lot of that stuff when I was younger contributes a lot to this; I doubt I would feel the same way were I 21 when having O.
There are a few dads on my mailing list; I wonder what your thoughts on this are?