Daddy Day Care

So, I've become a Dad! Not in the usual way, that would be far too simple! It's just like me to do things a little differently! Sadly, the traditional way to parenthood was not available to Mrs. and I. We decided fairly early on that we wanted to turn our misfortune into a positive for someone else, liberal lefties that we are.

Adoption is portrayed poorly on television, or at least in the programs that I've watched anyway. They always show the person popping into the hospital with a pregnant girl and coming out with a beautiful baby (after some comedy shenanigans of course!). But the reality is different. The adoption process is an arduous one, but not nearly as arduous as the journey those poor children have been on. The vast majority of children in this country are up for adoption due to neglect and abuse (sorry to bring a downer into it but there's no hiding from it). The foremost developmental years in a childs life have very often been lost. Imagine that for a second. Most of the things that make you who you are happen in the first few years of a childs life. Now imagine them gone. Scary, eh?

Anyway, we finally were matched with our Mister Man and Little Miss and on a glorious day and in a glorious way I became a Dad! Now Mrs. earns more than me sooo... Daddy Day Care!

It's amazing how many funny looks you get as a Dad with kids on your own (somewhere between pity and admiration) and it's amazing how many parenting tools are aimed at women. There are still plenty of places where the baby change facilities are in the womens toilets, not that I need them myself thankfully!

But it's been an absolute joy and pleasure so far. It amazes me how strong they have been. To have been through what they have and still come out smiling is a testament to their strength.

And as I sit here in the soft play centre a song has come on which Mrs. and I always equated with our struggle to be parents but it could equally apply to the struggle Mr Man and Little Miss have to overcome daily:

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!

And in floods of manly tears I will sign off.

#daddydaycare