The diary of Dad

Monday is the big day. The tiny little monster that we created will be celebrating his 2nd birthday and we can’t wait to make it as special as we can for him.

Sarah has been busy experimenting and baking all week. Her sheer determination to make him the greatest birthday cake ever seen is astounding and has also resulted in a constant supply of chocolate cake which is never a bad thing. We have also got the beast some amazing presents and received some great gifts from friends and family that we can’t wait for him to rip into on Monday.

There will be balloons, hats, party bags and plenty of pals to celebrate with him but still, a few little pieces of the perfect birthday puzzle will be missing.

It almost feels bizarre to me that some friends and family won’t be able to party with Robbie on the day. Some are still shielding, others stuck in Spain unable to come and join our adventures. The guest list is also limited due to regulations.

All of this, as sad as it is, I fully understand yet it still feels slightly surreal to me. For those that don’t know me, I work in a rather large seafront restaurant and what I see every day makes it easy to forget the times that we are in.

To say that the beaches are packed would be an understatement. Our restaurant is always mobbed at this time of year anyway but with an added heatwave on top, business is booming. You then add in the government vouchers giving people half price meals to encourage them to go out and make our packed restaurant even busier and it really makes me question why I am spending my personal time keeping my distance!

Fortunately for me, our management team are superb and are really doing all they can to control the crowds and keep the environment as safe as they can. Though this does little to dampen my frustration of watching and serving hundreds of people in large groups every day before having to limit numbers for my own son’s birthday. Perhaps I’ve lost touch with reality, but it just doesn’t feel right to me.

On a happier note, we have been able to take advantage of a few aspects of society opening up again. Robbie has returned to nursery and is loving it, getting excited the night before and shouting ‘Amber Amber Amber’ (His teacher’s name) and coming home and educating us on all the new songs and dances he has learnt. Peel banana seemed like a real winner until we found the full version on YouTube and realised that, like many kids songs, it’s all just a bit weird.

It had been so long that we had almost forgotten one of the main side effects of nursery. It seems one of those things in life that a meeting of a small group of healthy children inevitably ends in them all having colds and snot everywhere. It’s still unclear how that actually happens, but perhaps those searching for answers about the spread of Covid should begin by studying toddlers. Luckily Robbie was only a little poorly for a couple of days and soon bounced back.

Robbie, or Polly as he is often known in our house, is now talking far more than ever. He has a real desire to learn words and repeats every word we speak meaning I have to be a little more picky with my language these days. He joined my in shouting ‘come on Arsenal’ through the football last week but struggled a little with ‘N’ in the word Arsenal. I’ll leave it to your imagination at what he was screaming at the television. We were probably lucky social services didn’t show up.

Just before the world went crazy, we had reluctantly decided that the time had come to give Robbie his first haircut. Mummy and I both love his long locks but it was beginning to get a little out of control so we booked in with Sarah’s cousin to give him a trim. Just before the big day something come up and we had to cancel, blissfully unaware that this was our last opportunity. I’m glad it did. The nursery even sent him home with a cool new look last week after clearly trying to play dress up with him but claiming it was to keep the hair out of his eyes. I know your game!

So back to Monday. I’ve had an amazing two years of being slightly responsible for raising this beautiful little man and it’s time to celebrate. A small get together at a local farm and perhaps a beer or two back at the house should lead to a great day for us all. Loads of toys all in great cardboard boxes that I’m sure Robs will love climbing inside of mean that he will have a day to remember.

For those that can’t join us, I’m sorry. You will be the first people on Robbie’s ‘must cuddle’ list as soon as we get the chance. See you all soon, Steve.