Not more camping

So I realised I didn't f finish telling you about the rest of our camping trip. So here is the conclusion to the world's longest ever cliffhanger!!

So our first night camping was very interesting. Isaac woke several times as he was spooked by the tent sheet flapping in the wind. Then by the torches that people used to navigate their way around the tents. Add to this the rain, sleeping in a different compartment of the tent and it was the perfect recipe for a pretty bad night. So this was the look of 'just you wait until tonight' that our friends gave us as we arrived at the site. They had already been through this. It was part of the parent’s code. You know, the one where new parents don’t tell parents in waiting that they need to hold on to their exuberance and excitement as it will get dragged naked through a thorn bush for about 7 months.  In the end, the next few nights were absolutely fine and he didn’t even notice the new distractions. 

In all honesty, the experience was much better than I was expecting. The big thing was the weather. We were very fortunate that we had great weather as we would have been pretty stuffed without it. The kids all played together and loved running around. One night, we had a barbecue and grilled some steaks. Karen was outside, I was cooking nice food and Isaac was playing with his mates. I felt we could stay here all week. However, when I realised that we were indeed going home on Sunday morning, I took down our tent with such speed, that people commented on it. “Chris is keen,” some said. I had been casually distracted from the fact that I was about to reunited with my bed, running hot water and a fridge. All the mod-cons that I live for. 

We loaded up the car and decided to go for a walk down the pier as there was a fish and chip shop right on the waterfront. When we got there, there was a queue (which is always a good thing). When we ordered, they said the words which were music to my ears. “ It will be 7 minutes as we cook everything fresh.” It was delicious. We ate our fish and chips and I thought to myself, as painful as this was, I’m thankful that we are creating memories for Isaac and as a family. Also looking back, you forget the painful parts and remember the good parts. We wouldn’t have had this much fun in a hotel. Who has fun with room service and central heating??

So I realised that I didn't f finish telling you about the rest of our camping trip. So here is the world's longest ever cliffhanger!!

I've forgotten how to pack.

If you’ve never been to Centreparcs, you need bikes to get around. They operate a car-free policy whereby you can drop off your things in a designated window, but you must then leave your car in the car park until your check out slot. They are grouped so there are times where the only vehicles on the road are service vehicles and the train/bus. This is great as a parent, as you feel your kids can run freely and you can take a break from constantly instilling fear into them about the dangers of the road. It is important to teach this, but I often feel I don't balance it out, so it was a nice change. 

As I mentioned earlier, it was our first holiday in while and my packing was definitely indicitive of someone who had not been holiday for a while. The things I packed as essentials were. 

Fish oil

Hair clippers

Moisturiser

Watch

Aftershave. 

I didn’t bring my waterproof, jacket or hat, many jumpers, many shoes......I didn’t really know what the hell to pack as I was a novice holiday maker again. I also didn’t really know what I would do for fun with the family. When you are with your child, you tend to operate in survival mode, which is a state of “what do they need? When did they last eat? How much sleep have they had? When was the last poo they did?” Nowhere in this thought process do you ever think about options for yourself for 5 days away from home. So I was a little underprepared to cycle for 5 days in the pouring rain. On our way to the pool, I had a bulging holdall bag with my swimming stuff in. We got our bikes and they were a little on the small side. I had to put my bag over one shoulder and hold the handlebars with one hand. Considering I was the only black guy in the village, the look I was fashioning looked like I should have been selling watches on beach in Cyrpus, or down Croydon highstreet. 

So where we (see the last blog)? Oh yes we were waiting to go down the slide. The light was on red. the jets of water were rushing past us. I was assured that this was the gentle slide. We had a green light and we were cleared for take off. We started to move and then we got stuck! I hadn’t allowed for the extra weight in my hips as Isaac was sat on my lap. I had to lie down, then sit up and lie down again to try to get momentum. The CCTV must have been hilarious yet I felt I wasn’t the only dad who had done this. I couldn’t believe I was ruining this for Isaac. He started to look uncomfortable with my technique to propel him down the green tube. Eventually we got going. He seemed to enjoy the gentle slide. That was until we started to gather speed. I knew the end of the slide was coming but I didn’t really know what to expect as Isaac does not do underwater. As we hit the water, I thrust him up to avoid immiment drowing, but as I tried to see where he was, my thrashing pulled him under. When I got back to the surface, he seemed perfectly fine. All those painful swimming lessons seemed to have finally paid off as when I asked him if he wanted to do it again, he said, “more daddy.”

First family holiday

So it’s our first ever family holiday after our camping trip. I never did finish telling you how that went.....Part 2 coming soon!  We decided to go to Centreparcs even though again I had my reservations. I thought it was another ‘camping in disguise’ holiday. If you had read my previous blogs, you will know that i’m not really a fan of camping. However, I was pleasantly surprised. We went to Longleat as we had some friends going too. Once you re-shape your mind into what a family holiday will look like, you start to relax a bit. Doing what you want when you want is a distance memory. However, it doesn't make it less enjoyable. So when you see other parents trying to keep their kids entertained at lunchtime with various books or toys, or you will suddenly see a child bolt out from set of doors, only to be rugby tackled moments later by their dad, it all becomes a familiar pattern of a family holiday. The difference between here and other places is that everyone is in the same boat, so there is no need to apologise or hang your head in shame when your child decides to wear their dinner instead of eating it. Everyone understands and has probably just gone through the same thing. 

The first day we decided to go to the water park. As it was indoors, we thought the heat would be appealing to both myself and Isaac. He seems to have inherited the African gene which has an aversion to the cold. The last couple of years of swimming lessons started to come flooding back as we did the towel dance in the changing rooms. Once Isaac was suited and booted in his armbands, we went straight in the pool. It was nice and warm for me, but probably too hot for most people. I definitely thought we could get used to this. 

We decided to go straight for the wave tunnel. The machine was charging up so It had a gently current taking you round in a loop. Isaac isn’t normally one for danger. In fact he seems to have a ‘spider-sense’ which kicks in just before he is about to try something new. However, he was grinning like a cheshire cat all the way around. "He’s loving this," I thought, so I cranked it up a notch as we went for the slides. Too much? Only time will tell. As we sat in the tunnel waiting for the lights to go green, I wasn’t sure who was more nervous. Isaac or me. This was our one chance to either embrace the adrenaline, or permanently scar my son for life.........

We're back.

A few people have been asking me what has happened to the dad blog. Well after a bit of a break, we are going again. We have a lot to share. We had our first holiday, we've had 'fun' with removing the cot bars and many more interesting and challenging events. Today we resumed swimming, which was interesting as if you have read my previous blogs about this, you will know that Isaac does not take to swimming like the proverbial 'duck to water.' However, after a brief bootcamp swimming experience in Centre Parcs, he was laughing much more than he ever did. Dare I say it, he actually looked like he enjoyed himself. Then, daddy ruined the experience by getting shampoo in his eyes and him screaming the changing area down. I'll talk about this more in the holiday blog, but what we realised is he doesn't like the cold. Which isn't really a suprise as:

A: It is a natural survival instinct to not freeze to death.

B: Neither do I.

So the pool being that bit warmer and daddy being that bit warmer did help. How I had missed our weekly crotch kicking, eye scratching bonding experience which ends with a Brazilian style wax as I take off my swimming shorts, due to the ridiculous design of the netting that us fellas need on the inside of our shorts. If anyone has any tips on this area, feel free to share them as I desperately need them!!

Anyway, that's all for now.

Our first camping trip part 1.

Earlier last year, we went camping for the first time. I need to make it clear that from the start that I can't stand camping. The idea of sleeping in a tent fills me with dread. Why would you work hard to put a roof over your head, to then rough it in a field sleeping in a tent?

My in-laws love camping. When we said we were going, we were asked whether we had an array of equipment that was straight out of the Ray Mears handbook. They thankfully lent us their 'weekend tent', and put it up in our back garden for practice. However, my petulant "how stupid do you think I am?" chip, kicked in and even though I was trying to listen to the instructions, I wasn't. I compounded the lie even further, when I was asked if I needed to go over it again, and I replied, "nope, I got it all the first time." Considering camping is 90% about your tent, I had a funny feeling that this would come back to bite me.

We pulled up at our campsite in Southwold. I started to have flashbacks of my camping experience as a Cub Scout. "You're doing it for your family," I kept telling myself. I could see some of our friends and they already had their tents up. As we got out of the car, some of the group gave us a look. It reminded me of the look we got from residents in a certain part of San Francisco that tourists shouldn't go to, as we ventured deeper and deeper into Haight Ashbury. They seemed slightly deflated and I couldn't figure out why. Anyway, I jumped out and started to get the tent set up. Only when I pulled out the 4 sheets of our tent, and the 60-piece bag of ties and pegs, did I realise the extent of my 'not listening' during the demonstration. In my best, "don't worry, I'll sort it manner," I attempted to erect the tent. Everything and everything got pegged in the hope it would stay up. Luckily it did.

Later that night, we found out the reason for the look our friends gave us earlier. They had of course endured the first night with their child and knew we had the same to follow. Everything spooked him and it reminded me of the early stages of sleepless nights. All I kept thinking was we were in for a long weekend...........

Our first slightly aware but moist Christmas.

Last year, Christmas wasn't really on the radar for our son. He wasn't really up to much except for rolling around and trying to get onto his feet. This year was a different affair. He seemed to be aware that parcels with wrapping paper needed to be opened and he got a cheer every time he did! 

You may not be aware, but Christmas is an interesting time in our household as we have my wife's birthday on the 24th and my son's birthday on the 30th of December. So there are quite a few presents which need to be kept out of sight, otherwise, our son will open them. It isn't always to play with what is inside. Mostly, it's because now he sees opening presents as a game. If I was his age, I would probably agree!

My son's first real awareness that Christmas was coming was our trip to Santa's grotto. He actually went to 3 in total, and the his experience seemed to improve with every different version of Santa he encountered. We were apprehensive as his first ever experience of Santa  wasn't a pleasant one. Santa's temporary residency was in an outdoor tent. There were candles around him and some decorations hanging down from the roof. Unfortunately it was windy at the time which  made the tent feel like we were in the middle of a seance and combined with a big guy wearing a costume saying "have you been a good boy," my son was understandably spooked.   This time however he did seem less scared by Santa especially when one of his middle class replicas gave our son some Green and Black's organic chocolate. Luckily for us, he didn't see the chocolate raisins, as this is to him, what catnip is to cats. We even got a picture without having to pay an extra £5,000.

Unfortunately though, our son wasn't very well on either my wife's birthday or Christmas day. An ear and throat infection ensured we had a 'wail' of a time all day and all night. It also brought with it a certain amount of 'moisture', which seemed to end up looking like facial jewellery from his nose to his cheek . He didn't really want to open anything  until 27th when he started to feel better. Then he was opening everything. Birthday presents and presents we hadn't yet given to people. Think about it though. We try to get kids excited to open their gifts and tell them they can't open others. That sounds pretty unreasonable to me and explains the many tantrums we had trying to wrestle different pairs of socks from his moist hands.

With all seriousness though, we are slightly concerned with how materialistic we make Christmas. One person giving a gift to a child might not seem like a problem, but they don't realise that 30 other people are doing the same. It can get quite tricky for family too as they can see it as you rebuffing their love and affection. So we have decided to space out his gifts and even put some in the loft for later in the year. A friend said there is a certain amount of surprise in toys that make a reappearance after their stint at the Priory for traumatised toys.

So hopefully he has been broken in for the craziness of Christmas. Let's hope he sees it as we do. A time of the year where people eat too much, drink too much and moan at each other about how much needs doing or who has or hasn't bought what ( note the tone).

Great news.

Hi, it's been a while since my last post. My son has started nursery. His speech and sense of humour have come and he his latest trick is to come into our bedroom, slap me really hard and say, "get up daddy." Although, as it isn't that clear, he could be saying, "Where's P-Diddy?"

Earlier in the year we went camping. I didn't blog about this as on the way back, our friends were involved in a serious car accident. Our friend was left with a broken neck. His partner had to have her arm pinned and their son had to have surgery to his face. It didn't leave me wanting to talk much about the camping as it didn't really leave a great experience in our mind. I can still remember saying to him, "I will see you in a few hours," only for them to not make it home for some time.

However, we are pleased to say that they are all on the mend. He has had his neck brace removed and is walking fine. As part of his rehab I HAD to take him to watch The Dark Knight Rises. It was a SHEER coincidence that it was a film we both wanted to watch and our partners didn't. Even better news is that yesterday his partner gave birth to twins. It must have been awful to not have been able to hold his son for months, so now he has 3 kids, he'll be making up for it!

This experience taught me a few things. Do you remember at school when you asked someone to be your friend or best friend? We don't need to ask whether we are friends as adults. We automatically become friends through our connections and shared experiences. Obviously we aren't kids anymore, but I think we can take for granted the connections we make. We didn't realise how much we cared for our friends until they were in trouble. So we will not take it for granted again. Whether you meet people through NTC or birthing groups, connections are important.

So the camping blog will be up shortly as it was an interesting experience!