Hi there everybody,
Just reaching the end of what feels like a very long day, so I’m sure you’ll all understand if me and my typist (hello, it’s Louise, this is the first time I’m doing his secretarial since he was paying me for it and I’m not happy) keep things brief.
I’ll tell you the tale of this morning’s events (he’s picking on my typing skills) and my return home in detail tomorrow, but suffice to say that anything I felt compares nothing at all to spending four hours watching my son play. This was swiftly followed by a real round the kitchen table family dinner (he’s doing it again) and topped off with Oscar sitting on my knee for bedtime milk. It’s difficult to explain but if I went in my sleep tonight, I would feel as though I had achieved everything I ever wanted, save for the minor inconvenience of having to communicate it through my wife instead of my computer (some time soon I will be writing a post about how living through this does cause a lot of bickering).
Sardonic wit aside, I mean everything I say. It was magical.
Sleep well. Much love,
Neil x (and Louise)
PS: If you read anything else on The Plattitude ever, read Ricky’s comment/essay on my post The Taxi is Booked…, it contains things which I could never endure and sharing experiences like this is what this site is about. We share what we share with you for more than a pat on the back or our own personal gratification. I hope Ricky’s comment will kick start the full potential of our blog. It’s yours too.
Bickering was now part of our routine but it was good to have him home. Somewhere in my trepidation about his homecoming I had forgotten how basic it is to want to care for someone you love. You’re not caring for a stranger, you’re caring for someone you can read, anticipate their needs, their wants, understand their emotions, and enjoy their sense of humour. It makes you content at the end of a day that you’ve achieved looking after them, no matter what difficulties the day has brought.
I’m sure this sounds familiar to any new parent. It was the same feeling for me with both Neil and Oscar. Their contributions to my day were very similar, they both needed me physically to help them, care for them and to listen to them but they both gave me back precious moments and memories, love and a feeling of pride. – Louise (2013)