Back in the spring of last year I distinctly remember talking to one of my oldest and closest friends who had recently had their second child. I tentatively quizzed them about how much more difficult it was with two, as opposed to one, and nervously awaited their reply. “It’s actually not much harder” they reliably informed me (for “reliably informed” read “lied through their shameful, hope-enducing teeth”). “It’s much harder to go from no kids to one kid, than it is from one to two”. With each sentence I could feel my shoulders relaxing, a soft and gentle sigh emitting as I slowly sank into what I now know was the falsest of false senses of security.
Truth be told, parts of it can be really challenging, but equally the moments of reward are twice as great. Every parent has their own individual yardstick by which they can measure how tough things sometimes get, and what for one person may be the tiniest of molehills, will always be someone else’s mountain. Such is life.
I guess a good indication of how much busier our lives are nowadays is the fact that Felix – yes we have two kids now! – is now 15 months old and I’m finally sitting down to resurrect my blog for the first time since he was born. Now of course there are many other reasons why it has taken me this long. It could be argued that abject laziness should sit somewhere near the summit of that long list of excuses, but it is what it is.
So here we are. The last 15 months have been incredible in many ways, both figuratively and literally. We’ve welcomed our second child in to the world and given Thea the buddy we’ve always wanted for her. We’ve had our hearts melted as they’ve formed the cutest of relationships and we’ve had those same hearts tested with week-long stays in a children’s hospital. We’ve watched Thea gradually turn into the most intelligent, funny and caring little girl, while at the same time attempting to navigate the tricky waters between toddler tantrums and full-blown pre-schooler meltdowns. It’s been a hell of a ride, and we’re only just at the beginning, with so much more to come. But first, we’ve got some catching up to do.
Over the next few weeks I’ll relate some of our experiences from the past couple of years, from how we finally came out the other side of a long and difficult road to meet Felix, to the mixed emotions that accompanied the day we sent Thea off to school for the first time. I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions as I share our story with you all.
Keep your eyes peeled.