Hey everyone, happy belated new year! I just came across the below blog that I appeared to have written and never posted, so I may as well post it now.
I tell you, my memory is appalling, wonder how many other posts I’ll forget about in 2019?
So 2018 was a bit… [insert objective of your choice]!
Everyone has their opinion on what the year was like, predominantly negative based on what I’ve seen people say online. But amongst the whirlwind that is modern politics, extreme weather, scandals and the rest of it; 2018 had some pretty great moments and will be a year I remember fondly.
And that’s mainly because it was the year that I fulfilled a dream that I’ve had for many years; I became a dad.
I remember back when I was in my mid-teens I dreamed of starting my own family. I had vivid dreams of a wife and child, despite being the type of boy that wouldn’t actually dream of trying to ask a girl out. No, I was too busy playing Football Manager or pretending to be a radio DJ. But for some reason I harboured a deep seated ambition to be a dad.
In late January of last year that dream came to fruition as my wonderful wife gave birth to our little boy. Hunter has been a joy, a nightmare, exhausting and exhilarating. Everything they tell you about how tired you will be is true. Especially if, like me, you already have a sleep related medical condition and spent most of the year doing a two and a half hours daily commute I’m worn out.
All the things we used to do have gone by the wayside. Prior to Christmas I turned the PlayStation on maybe twice in six months, and one of those times I fell asleep on the sofa before my game actually loaded. We went to the cinema twice in 2018. Instead I have a daily routine that includes very early starts and the occasional pre-6am nappy change and the near constant washing and sterilising of bottles.
But, conversely, everything other parents tell you about the love you feel and the joy of seeing your kid sit up for the first time, or say “dada” is also true. Every day I wake up, every time I come in from work, all I want to do is give Hunter the biggest hug. His smile when I walk through the door melts my heart every time.
My Instagram feed is now 99.9% pics of Hunter. Everything I do is now for him. Yes there’s periods where I wish I could just have some time alone, or just with Kitty, but the best times are when I’m able to have a bit of a lay in and the three of us just have some cuddles together (and by lay in I mean until 7am). I loved our first family Christmas and in just two days it’s Hunters first birthday! Man, this past 12 months has flown by.
In other news; I have a new job!
After a little over two years commuting from Southampton to Chichester it was time to find something a little closer to home. And my new job will see me working as close to home as physically possible… because I am working from home!
I’m still dealing with international health insurance claims, but for a different company. The opportunity to cut out the two and a half hour commute every day and save all that petrol money was too good of an opportunity not to take. Instead I’m be based at home, able to do Hunters nursery run and just having to go to the office in Redhill once a month.
So, what should I do with all the extra free time? Maybe I’ll actually write more actively on here. Weirder things have happened recently.