Month: December 2015

And that’s what happened

A bit of hyperbole goes a long way. A local theatre company accidentally stumbling across Shakespeare and careering on to the national stage. Played out like a sociological case study of structure and action; all experienced through the comfort of the laptop keyboard, the visceral assault of the monitor and the unnerving disquiet of the telephone ringtone.

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I will not pretend

My experiences over the past week or so have been mixed and interesting. I’ve encountered considerable generosity and goodwill and had to balance that with some serious decision making. I’ve had to play the game and remain true myself. Occasionally I’ve had to draw a line.

I’m mindful that having had the luxury of choice in my life made this week a roller coaster I could step off, rather than a merry-go-round that I couldn’t. I’m not sure that I’d have, or be willing to expend, that sort of energy on a regular basis any more. In the past? Perhaps.

You have to use your energies where they are needed most and still retain some joy for life. Being bitter is never as good as a pint of it. And so, as I checked on the boys sleeping in their beds last night I received a timely reminder. Probably one of the most important pieces of advice someone could pass on to their child. As I stood there in the dark the voice on the CD player was calm and deliberate:

“When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important. A stodgy parent is no fun at all! What a child wants -and DESERVES- is a parent who is SPARKY!” 

I stayed a moment longer in the silence, then drew another line.

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About that hedgehog

I’ve done a few daft things in my time. None particularly serious and certainly none of note. I’ve made small gestures on points of principle and maybe raised the odd eyebrow or smile. I’ve stood anonymously in crowds, marched and shouted with the best of them. All deliberate actions but never really raising my head above the parapet. Then I became father to 3 boys and settled on contenting myself with quietly grumbling in the corner, a gradual but inevitable slide into an ineffectual, cantankerous old man.

 

Sometimes though something happens quite by accident. You really didn’t mean much by it, maybe you thought you were trying to help. A little thing that got out of hand. You then find you have a bit of a dilemma. Do you go back to sleep and ignore it or do you follow it through and hope, even if it’s an outside chance, that something good will come out of it? It’s not so much of a stand, more accidental turn down a one way street. Now though your head is above the parapet, directly in the line of fire, and frankly for all your principles you’re shitting yourself. About something you never thought you’d be shouting about. Kids do strange things to you. When their welfare is at stake you start to take risks again. It’s not comfortable.

 

I’m not sure if the writer was able to salvage anything intelligible from my ramblings or what treatment they received. I hope it wasn’t too negative, ours was a good news story after all. I don’t yet know whether I dare show my face in public any time soon and I certainly don’t think that I’m brave enough to read it. I hope however it turns out that I’m not judged too harshly. I was just looking out for my boys and the community that I’ve come to call home these past 10 years, and those like us.

 

And what’s this got to do with hedgehogs? Well courting all this attention might seem fun but it’s a wee bit prickly.

 

Looking out for you