New Adventures

This week started with a new adventure for me, something I have wanted to do for a while.  It may not have been presented to me in the format I was expecting, however, I trusted my instincts and went with it.  You are probably thinking “What is he on about?”  I’m afraid I can’t say any more on this at the moment, but you will be the first to know as I have been supported and inspired by so many of you.

One new adventure I can tell you about is my up and coming shared paternity leave, the forms have now been submitted!  I am looking at having anything between 2-3 months starting from April.  We have spoken to quite a few couples that have done this and they have all said its the best thing they ever did!  Of course, I know it will be a challenge, NK has already started preparing me with “What if” scenarios and as we know there will plenty of those with 3 kids to manage.  I am expecting the time to fly by as anyone who does a school drop off and pick up will know there are very few hours in between, which normally zoom by!  I will plan to make the most of the time that I do have and I am really looking forward to the challenge of being a full-time dad.  The options were not here four yrs ago when GK was born, more and more are taking the opportunity now, so why not??

This week also included attending a men’s only event hosted by Taraki http://www.taraki.uk

As a team, they are passionate about getting Punjabi/Sikh men to open up about anything ranging from everyday issues to mental health illnesses.  We all know that as a community we have been pretty bad at this over the years. Putting that to one side I am noticing a change that goes hand in hand with the rise of public awareness around mental health.  It was a really positive evening and I am sure we will see more of these pop up all over the country.  These guys are doing amazing work, I am honoured to be a part of this and urge you all to support them in any way that you can.

We all have a guvnor in our house, but now she officially has the title of school governor, yes NK has been successfully voted in as the new parent governor in the kid’s school.  I always knew she would get it, however, she was playing it down (I bet she hasn’t even told any of you yet?) well you all know now!  I am so proud of her and know she will be great, she has invested so much time in building a relationship with the school over the years that she deserves this opportunity, I know she will enjoy all the meetings as well!

Finally, those that would have seen my IG story from the other day will know about our boiler.  Our Sikh dad came to the rescue in the early hours of the morning It was my turn to ask dad “why do boilers always fail in the winter when you need them the most?” Dad replied “That is because in the winter they do the most work” I was reassured but cold, I thought about all those who literally sleep out in the cold night after night, it certainly makes you feel grateful for the things you normally take for granted.  Normal order has now been restored but its a hard financial hit during maternity leave, but o well, we all know things could be much worse!