What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of!
If you've been paying attention you will have figured out by now that we have a grandchild. Well he's Danny's grandchild by blood and mine by default, but I met him when he was an hour old so I doubt he'll know or care about the difference when he gets older. Today Miller turns 2, and what an interesting couple of years it has been.
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| 14th July 2012 |
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| 18th July 2012 |
I interviewed Danny about what it was like to be a granddad. Here are his responses verbatim, illustrated by a (very!) small selection of my favourite images of Miller and Danny chilling out together. I estimate that in Miller's 731 days on this earth we have already taken 5500 photos of him, so a small selection indeed.
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| 25th July 2012 |
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| 25th July 2012 |
How did you feel when
you first found out you were going to be a granddad?
Astounded.
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| 4th October 2012 |
Can you elaborate?
Your fears, your hopes?
My
daughter had told me she wasn't going to have children for years and
years. And then something happened and all those plans went out the
window.
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| 26th October 2012 |
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| 21st November 2012 |
Tell me about the
months leading up to Miller's birth. What changed for you and what
changed for Lauren? How did you prepare for Miller's entry into the
world?
It
was a funny old period because Lauren hadn't been speaking to me for
some time. So all of a sudden we had to make up time and tiptoe
around each other for a little while so that we could re-establish
our relationship and get ready for the arrival of the little boy.
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| 14th December 2012 |
Tell me about the day
Miller was born.
He
was ten days late at that stage and we (Anna and Danny) had been
getting ready for a trip overseas, and it was only a few days away.
We were starting to think he was never coming! Finally I get text
messages to say things are happening. But not yet. So we got our
cameras ready because we were going to be there. I was going to be a
granddad which was kinda cool.
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| Christmas Day 2012 |
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| 17th January 2013 |
What went through your
mind the first time you held him in your arms?
He's
my boy! He's a lovely little boy, he was just perfect. Ten fingers,
ten toes and a hungry little boy.
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| 31st January 2013 |
And ten pounds!
Yes!
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| 14th February 2013 |
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| 14th February 2013 |
What have been some of
the challenges of being a granddad?
My
wife doesn't like children as much as I do (laughs) but she's
learning. I think she loves him just as much as I do. But remembering
that little boys are different to the little girl I had twenty
something years ago. The cartoons are different, the clothes are
different. Little kids these days have interests in mobile phones and
i-pads, and all these electronic things we didn't have when my Lauren
was a little girl. So we have to find ways of turning a little boy's
habits into nice normal things like playing outside and reading books
and spending time together, while still working. Which I didn't get
to do when Lauren was a little girl because I was a part-time dad.
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| 10th March 2013 |
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| 15th May 2013 |
How is being a
granddad different to being a father?
I
think it is both easier and harder. It's easier because I can give
him back. It's harder because I always want to spend more time with
him and there is not always that time available. He pulls at your
heart strings a lot harder than some other people's children do.
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| 14th June 2013 |
What are your
favourite things about being a granddad?
Playing
with toys. Little boy toys! And make believe, and cuddles, and little
boy food, and sharing food (which my wife doesn't like!).
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| 14th July 2013 |
What are your least
favourite things about being a granddad?
There's
too much poo involved!
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| 10th August 2013 |
What difficulties did
you have to overcome in your own life to make Miller a part of it?
Really
just realigning my priorities so I could work around still providing
for us while making time for him. So taking shifts when I otherwise
might have had a day off, so that we could have time together and
maintain my relationship with my daughter at the same time.
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| 10th October 2013 |
What are your hopes
and aspirations for Miller's future?
I'd
like to think that Miller might be able to break the mould of some of
his earlier generation, get himself a good education and have a happy
life.
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| 15th December 2013 |
What challenges do you
think Miller will face growing up in today's society and in his own
personal circumstances?
Well
he's growing up without a dad like so many other kids which I think
is a sad indictment on relationships these days; not that mine (with Lauren's mother) was
much different. His life is so much more instant than ours was when
we were kids. Everything has to be right now!
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| 31st December 2013 |
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| 11th January 2014 |
If you could say
something to Miller and have him understand, given that he
is only 2, what would you say to him? (Miller is having a tantrum on
the floor behind us)
Get up off the floor right now and stop being a little baby (laughs). I'd just say that his granddad loves him very much. I hope I will be the best granddad I possibly can.
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| 20th February 2014 |
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| 4th May 2014 |
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| 8th July 2014 |
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| 14th July 2014 |
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| 14th July 2014 |
