A year ago today...

This day a year ago Antonia gave me a most tricky task. Her favourite long black swishy coat had developed a hole in the pocket and some loose change had fallen through. There were two or three coins trapped in the lining and yours truly, as Man of The House had a duty to retrieve said coins. I had just navigated one of the coins through endless miles of lining and was aligning it with the hole, when Antonia shoved something right under my nose. I am a little long-sighted and can not focus on very close things and I was on the verge of extracting one of the errant coins; I was not best amused. I tried to hold the coat with coin in place in one hand and move the thing under my nose to a little further away with the other. I saw a white stick. With two little parallel blue lines on it. I realised at once what it was and was immediately struck by the thought that Antonia has just wee'd on it and shoved it almost into my face. This was followed by wondering if two lines meant what I thought it meant. This was quickly followed by realising I had let go of the coin which was now back at the bottom of the coat lining. Poop.

So a year has passed. I have a new name, a new job and a new, small, squeaking-gurgling-pooping thing called Esme (pronounced with a 'Mee', rather than a 'May', if you were wondering). And despite previously being the most anti-baby/anti-child person I knew, I am loving every single second of fatherhood. There is some saying or other about childhood/school days being the best years of your life, from my very rare peeps into Friends Reunited, it is obviously true for some, but I can honestly say that, since being about 21 (not a great year), last year has always been the best year of my life, and now, with Esme's arrival, it's just got even better!

Like Father, Like daughter.

Those coins are still somewhere in the lining of that long black swishy coat.