It came as the shock of all shocks. My wife announced that she was pregnant and the bottle of whiskey that accompanied this news did little to ameliorate the aftershock of this information. This may surprise those that aim to have children, but I had decided some time ago that such a thing was not for me. It might have been the case once upon a time, but some years back, recognising my advancing years and the propensity for the mid-life crisis that inevitably accompanies such milestones, I resigned myself to the reality that I would never be a father. There were children's books that I had kept for years, since childhood, that I discarded at this point, and that sort of cemented my choice.
I'd decided to rather pre-empt the mid-life crisis that was supposedly due, and have some adventure instead, and enjoy the freedom my friends had lost as a result of parenthood. As such, I was planning a Vespa trip through Africa. Well, that will have to be put on hold now. I did go off the rails a bit, trying to accept my new reality, but slowly, I am beginning to accept it. I spoke to my son (he is still in there, waiting to get out) for the first time and asked him : "Have you tidied up your womb?".
I intend to post about this new challenge of mine regularly, so stay tuned.
Garp
The little guy's future big brother, Garp.
