A little bit of me

This is my 20th blog for Pregnancy & Newborn, and I cannot quite believe two things: how quickly time has gone and that I’ve found something to talk about 19 times before this blog post (although most of that talking is more like the ramblings of a madman with his newborn).
Last week I talked about the struggle for balance between career and fatherhood—and that struggle continues, as it probably will do for a long, long time. However, this week has included a wonderful moment that I want to share …
My little family lives only about an hour from a beautiful coastline where the sands are fine and the sea is calm, and that makes us very lucky. I love being by the sea. I find the smell of salt water and the sound of the waves rolling in mesmerizing. A quick visit to the coast seems to make me feel more centered. However, living in England usually means that a quick trip to the seaside is rare due to the rubbish weather that seems to always cast us fair Brits in a blanket of gray and rainy-ness. (I know “rainy-ness” is not a real word, but it should be when describing British weather.)
However, this week we have been very lucky. We had nice weather, and I had a day off! So we went to the seaside. It was Ben’s first time seeing the sea.
The day itself was wonderful. We sat on the beach and had a lovely walk along the pier. We had ice cream while wearing sunglasses—with Ben in his little summer hat. It was bliss.
But the best bit was when Ben and I walked to the shoreline for a little bit of father and son time. My other half isn’t bothered by the sea—not like I am—so she sat and watched as I waded into the (freezing) water with him in my arms.
I’m really keen to make sure Ben knows as much as possible about the world when he is young, and despite me being silly a lot of the time for his giggles, I like to try and balance that with knowledge. So, as we walked I told him about how the oceans cover 70 percent of our planet and how all life stemmed from them. I told him about how what we were seeing was just a tiny part of the greatness of the oceans and that our planet was bigger than anything he’s ever seen before. Then as I got lost in the sound of the waves lapping at my feet and the sight of the endless blue, I stopped talking and just enjoyed the moment with Ben in my arms.
For years I’ve loved being alone in these moments, just me and the endless sea. However, with him in my arms it felt even better, and as I looked at him I could see him also just staring out to sea, lost in his thoughts with a very content expression on his face.
I often wonder what parts of me Ben will inherit, and a lot of the time I cannot see the resemblance between him and me. But this week I discovered my love for the sea is something we share—and that’s something we can enjoy for the rest of my life with him.
This week I discovered a little bit of me in him.