A New Beginning

I have a friend - a very good friend, despite our opposing life views. To her, my life is tedious. Her opinion is that men who are happy to live on the Isle of Wight are boring, that she is too young to get married, that women who have children are gluttons for punishment (and crazy to be willing to give birth - the pain! The mess! The horror!) and that women who chose boring men from the Isle of Wight, who get married, get a mortgage and embark on family life have settled for less, have no ambition and have boring lives.

A flattering opinion, when you think about it. I'm not sure if it's occurred to her whilst she's sat on my sofa, large wine glass in hand, pouring scorn onto this way of life that she's actually talking about my life.
I ignore her opinion and smile politely whilst offering her another top up.

I've no qualms with the direction I've chosen for my life - after all, it's my life not hers and I'm the one that has to live it.

Then there are days that truly set us apart, that almost make me pity her life view and the things that it causes her to miss out on. Days that Bilbo Baggins springs to mind:

"Yes to others our ways seem quaint but today of all days it is brought home to me it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life"

In fact this very quote rattled through my head on the evening of May 16th.

After 40 weeks of pregnancy and 14 hours of labour our son arrived at 19:03, 7lbs 10oz, with a full head of hair and his Daddy's dark brown eyes.

I'm struggling between the desire to show off my beautiful baby boy and the need to protect his privacy, so for now I'll leave you with this photo, taken in the hospital when he was almost 12 hours old. (The curtains were drawn, that's why we're blue!)