Getting 2 young boys to bed most nights is like trying to sweep up on a windy day, you feel like you’re chasing about trying to make something happen against the will of higher beings.
And then you have nights like last night that make up for all those others: following instructions without threats; only having to ask 4 or 5 times; interesting conversation and some unprompted affection.
Oh fatherhood, how amazing a ride it is.
Oliver has been taking an interest in my camera of late which is great but I do catch myself wincing a bit when he slings it over his shoulder. Anyway he took this shot at Collingwood Children’s Farm over the easter long weekend which I thought was a nice one.
Today was a momentous day for Australia, the day we said sorry to the “stolen generation”. I tip my hat to our new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the way he made this happen so early in his term. I feel this is a major step forward for all Australians.
I love this video.
It’s a fabulous explanation of our consumer driven culture and the affect it has on our environment and others (i.e. those in third world countires).
Bought and setup a worm farm this weekend. To cut down on our waste, re-use our food scraps on the herbs and generally try and do our bit re the light footprint.
Oliver loved helping me set it up, he was holding and picking up the big fat worms and generally having a great time.
It’s freezing cold here tonight and the instrcutions say if it gets below 10 degrees C to put a blanket over them which I promptly did. A blanket over my worms to keep them warm, thats pretty wierd.
I knew Australia had a poor record for paternity leave but I did not know it was this bad. I just read in today’s Australian Financial Review that
“Australia is one of only two countries in the Western world that do not have government-paid [paternity] leave. The other [funnily enough] is the United States.”
And I knew Sweden had it good but I didn’t realise how good. According to the Economist
“In Sweden, a couple can take up to 13 months off work between them, with the state paying 80% of lost wages up to a ceiling of SKr24,562 ($3,425) a month.”
Luckily when we had my second son William my wonderful employer The Hiser Group paid me full pay for 2 weeks.
And it amazes me how many people think we are lucky to get the baby bonus – give me strength!
In the next elections, can Australians please vote for a government who cares about our social values, the environment and education – not our bloody economy!
Today something simple but amazing happened. My Mum messeged me on IM and during our conversation mentioned that Grandad had just come online as well and proceeded to invite him into the conversation.
It was one of those moments where you stop and think about how amazing the technology we have is. And it got me thinking that it’s pretty cool that they have the energy and have taken the time to learn how to fumble their way around on a computer.
And then the epiphany came – it’s will be post-children before I’ll have the opportunity to take on a large personal challenge like they did. My days are consumed with making money and my evenings with grooming my children for life in the big wide world.
We had a great day today. Oliver is almost over his croup and conjunctivitis and is starting to find his form of old. He had a big sleep in the middle of the day and apart from wetting the bed (on one of the few days we didn’t have a matress protector on) he woke up in a great mood.
After helping me to get a pot of Chilli Con Carne bubbling away on the stove, Oliver and I set about using the last of the light to turn the soil in our garden bed and plant some of the seedlings that desperately needed some more room to grow.
Oliver loves gardening with me and there were cute moments every where – none more so than when I has kneeling down planting some spinach and he came and stood right next to me and put his arm on my shoulder. It was the first time he had done it and I melted on the spot. A big smile came over me but I kept doing what I was doing and slowed the pace a little, to savour the moment.
Victoria also noticed him trying to use his little plastic hand shovel like I use my big shovel. Putting his foot on the top of the blade to push it in dirt – very cute.
You have some tough days with them and one great afternoon like that makes it all worth while – and some.
Today Oliver lost his innocence. He has now, with one pathetic action, turned from a toddler into a boy (in my eyes at least). Sure I may be a little dramatic but it’s amazing how these little events change the dynamic.
I came home early from work to spend some quality time with Olly and being a windy day I thought it was a great opportunity to head down the park and fly the kite we made in Sydney recently – since it had been too wet and windy to fly it while we were up there. It all ended in tears with about 5 seconds air time.
We headed down the park with Otto, the delightful little 4 year old boy from next door, with big plans to fly the kite high up in the air with kids running and screaming and having loads of fun.
When Otto went first to fly the kite, things started to turn sour. Oliver got so angry he snorted two big streams of snot out his nose, and then he ran over to Otto and tried on this pathetic slap that anyone who is not his father would have laughed at. I was shocked, aghast, appalled, disapponted and a lot of other adjectives. And then when we told him to apolagise, he wouldn’t have a bar of it. Oliver and I went home with tears flowing applenty.
I have to say I was diappoionted I didn’t get some kite flying time in.
