For the last month, I’ve been looking after my son on my own. My wife has been in China dealing with a family emergency, and due to its nature, it was thought best that she go alone. I am lucky enough to have an employer that could allow me to take unpaid leave to look after Matthew, and we are also lucky enough to be in a position financially to afford to take it.
For the past month Matthew and I have been together pretty much 24/7. It was pretty intense, and at times, an absolutely exhausting time. Our father/son relationship has deepened greatly, and my appreciation for the work done by my wife Mei in looking after Matthew has grown exponentially. I considered myself a pretty involved father before – I now know I was kidding myself.
Tomorrow I go back to my regular work, writing text files for a computer. Compared to parenting, it is by far the easier job of the two. The past month has been tough at times – but so are most things that are worth doing. I suspect that in the future, I look back at this as one of the most productive times in my life.