Just for today let’s not talk about the evil Daily Mail or religion or some other stupidity, shall we? Let’s talk about how lucky we (the Lovely Melanie and I) are in having a couple of the best daughters a parent could wish for, eh?
Case in point #1 – the Lovely Melanie took Millie to a party held at and by the library yesterday (presumably because it’s half term at the moment) where she tells me that, amongst other things, they had a sort of talent show for the children there with a prize of some sweets for anyone brave enough to get up and perform.
Many of the children were older than Millie and most of them got up to tell a joke (note: jokes by anyone under the age of eight tend towards the hyper-surreal, i.e., not funny). Millie, however, took the microphone and sang “Once Upon A Dream” from Sleeping Beauty! The Lovely Melanie had a tear in her eye as she watched, and even some of the other mums there – hardened against cuteness by having their own children – were quite taken aback.
Tragically, no record exists of this performance, so you and I can only imagine what it was like; however, you can be sure Millie got an extra special bedtime kiss from both of us last night! 
Case in point #2 – after a long day at work I had a nasty headache and an AmberG to pick up from nursery. I got off the train at Sidcup, trudged, sweating and desperate for the loo, up the hill to her nursery where I got the most wonderfully effusive welcome that a dad anyone could wish for from another human being.
AmberG came running up to me, arms outstretched, and cuddled me as tight as she could.
Going outside I pointed out the moon to her in the sky and she then helpfully pointed it out to me, saying “moom, moom!” and standing up in her buggy to get a better view.
She also pointed out “bus”, “dark”, “car”, “window”, “doggie” and some other stuff I didn’t quite catch. All the way home on the bus she was stood up at the window looking out, laughing and naming things. Including the “moom” again.
It was just one of those journeys when you remember why you had kids in the first place – something that can sadly sometimes be forgotten in the kerfuffle of daily family life. For me one of the reasons was to pass on what I know about the world and its wonders to someone else. I don’t want my children growing up “bored” all the time, contemptuous of knowledge and learning, and how these can hardly fail to enrich the world,
One of the things that makes my life so interesting, so completely not-boring, is my sketchy understanding of how incredibly huge and complicated it all is – “it” being life, the universe and everything – and how its intricacies all mesh together so beautifully.
Because with an open, enquiring mind I don’t think you can ever be bored – there’s always something new to see and think about and try to grasp.
Better still: with an open, enquiring mind you can regularly be overwhelmed with wonder at the world. It can not only make you simply not-bored, but genuinely amazed, excited, awestruck, humble and, in my experience, much happier.
One of the saddest and most shocking things anyone ever said to me was about my time spent at university: “That was a waste of time, wasn’t it?” they said.
Seldom has a single sentence left me quite so dumbstruck. I wanted to launch into a tirade about how utterly misguided that statement was, about how those three years had made me what I am today, shown me how much I don’t know and made me want to learn about, well – everything!
It almost literally made me want to live forever so that I would be able to do this – learn everything about everything!
Sadly, I kind of flapped my jaw a bit and that person moved on to talking about something else before I could form the devastating riposte that was so clearly needed.
But that’s one of the things I’m hoping to pass on to Millie and Amber – a sense of wonder and curiosity that will stand them in good stead for their whole lives, and ensure that those lives are substantially happier as a result.
