Expecting

Along with writing this blog I am also writing a little book or booklet, a weekly diary of sorts for our, as yet unborn, child.

My interest in family trees and the likes has meant that I have researched my own family tree and found the names of people as far back as the 14th century, yet lots of these people are little more than names on a page to me, and I would love to know more of their lives. In the same way that I would like to know more about my parents lives and the world they lived I before I was born. With that in mind I am keeping a journal for our baby called “Expecting” that I am trying to fill out once a week or so. If I mange it, I will carry on after our baby is born, so that in years to come there is some record for our baby to look back on. Today’s entry in “Expecting” reads:


You are now 17 Weeks old and about 5 inches long from head to rump!

Your mum sings to you "Kooks" by David Bowie:


"Will you stay in our Lovers' Story?
If you stay you won't be sorry
'Cause we believe in you.
Soon you'll grow, so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing.

We bought you lots of things to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry
I bought you a pair of shoes
A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people when they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kooky too"


By the time you are old enough to read this, you will be well aware that you parents are kooky. I think that’s a good word for it. I always have had the sneaking impression that everyone else is living to a slightly different set of rules to your mum and me.

Sometimes being different can feel a very strange thing, we can feel that we desperately want to fit in, and I am sure that there are times when you will feel very embarrassed of us or anything about you that is different. If you havent discovered it already, the thing that most people have in common – is that they don’t feel that they fit in. Most people spend a huge amount of time pretending that they are exactly the same as other people – who are also pretending. Your mum and me think that being different is just fine, and we hope that you will grow up to be someone who will decide on what you want to wear, what you want to do with your life, the music you like, the books you enjoy, that you will manage to avoid feeling you need to pretend you like something just because other people do. No matter what, always remember, whoever you become, wherever you go in your life, we will always love you and there will always be a warm welcome waiting for you.