• The Thing About Life

    Fear and Courage

    Around bedtime… Me: Daddy will tell you a story. have you heard of the Three Little Pigs? Xan: No. Me: Okay, Once upon a time… One pig later… Me: … and the big bad wolf said, I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your… Xan: Daddy, I don’t want this story. I scared. Dear Xander, In the course of spending time with you, one thing I had not anticipated was how you would deal with fear. As a child, your father built up quite a resilience to things that go bump in the night. Thanks to the television viewing habits of some of my sisters, I was very much…

  • The Thing About Life

    The Best Defence

    One night, just before falling asleep… Xander: Daddy, protect me. Me: Protect you? How? Xander: Like this (puts one arm around bolster) and like this (puts the other arm around bolster). … And he snuggled in and fell asleep in my arms. Dear Xander, It is only natural for your parents to worry for you, fuss over you, or nag at you for running/climbing/jumping/flying around all over the place. You’re never out of our sight when you’re with us, and we’re never out of yours. We want you to be safe, and protect you from harm as much as we can. At the same time, your mother and I also…