Starting School

It’s been quiet here for a while now. I’ve always found it hard to get enthused about hacking over the summer months, but as autumn returns once again I find my interest returning to geekly matters once again.
However the last few weeks have been particularly precious because, as of this week, my son has started school. I can’t quite believe that five years have flown past so fast and we’ve got to this point already. Truth be told he seems to be taking it all in his stride so far, just as he did with nursery. I think its Debs and I that have been the most nervous. New faces, new routines. And all away from home. I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s enough to bring a tear to the eye. It’s also put me in something of a reflective mood, as you can probably tell. To cap it all off Martha starts nursery at the beginning of October.
Parenting is an odd business. It’s a cliche, but it really is a roller-coaster ride. Everyone expects that initial free-fall; you have 9 months of pure anticipation. And free-fall it is: you have to learn approximately 57 different new skills overnight. My advice for any prospect father is to roll up you sleeves (literally!) and get stuck in straight away.
Every parent has entries that they’d like to make in the mythical Baby Instruction Manual. I think I’d add something frivolous somewhere in an Appendix entitled “Weird Shit They Don’t Tell You”. And that is your partner’s head will, at times, swell to several times it’s normal size. Big Head Mode really exists.
What happens is that you spend long periods looking at the baby, fretting, fussing, cuddling, or just plain gazing into their face. Somewhere in your brain a switch flip so that you’re now used to seeing only tiny baby features. And then when you do actually look at your partner they seem to have an abnormal, freakishly large head. I’ve had independent confirmation that its not just us that have encountered this!
Anyway, just like a rollercoaster parenting has its ups and downs; lulls and sudden frenetic rushes of activity and changes in direction. A few months in, and things just click. Suddenly you’re not in free-fall any more. The baby is sleeping. You’re sleeping, and the routines are all in place. A sense of normality returns.
Then there’s the sudden lurch when the baby starts crawling and walking, and all of a sudden they’re everywhere. Everything moves up a shelf. Furniture gets re-arranged, and, turn your back, even for an instant and they’re off like a shot.
More surprises lurk further down the line. Talking; be ready to explain the why’s an wherefores of literally everything. Potty training; you will learn the location of every toilet within 10 miles of your house. And then…well then, they’re going to school and you’re wondering where the hell the time went.
I’m not sure what the next rush on the parenting roller-coaster will be. I’m very sure it’ll be as enjoyable as all the others.