How I dream of adventure when the sprog is in nursery.
I love the sprog. I really do.
But sometimes I think to myself, where would my life be if she hadn’t come along?
It’s only when you lose the opportunity to do anything that you realise all of the things that you wish you’d done before the little one came along.
I’ve got ideas of competing in ridiculous local festivals like the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling, The Dorset Nettle-Eating or the Cotswold’s Olympicks with their Shin-Kicking World Championships. (I’ll tell you what, the people in the West Country are bonkers!)
I’ve got aspirations for doing an end-to-ender by walking or cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats (like Fiona Quinn, Sean Conway, George Mahood or, my own brother, Tim Doolan)
I’ve got dreams of completing the Marathon Des Sables (in the footsteps of many of my idols - Matt Gibson, Sarah Williams, Helen Skelton, Ranulph Fiennes and Alastair Humphreys)
Maybe I would have written all of these novels and books that are floating around in my noggin by now.
Maybe I would have mastered the guitar.
Maybe I would have had a more fulfilled and successful life.
If only she hadn’t come along.
But then again, she is my fulfilment. She is my success story. I am painfully aware of the countless people who can’t have kids. I am absolutely blessed to have her in my life.
And besides, why can’t I do all those things while she is here? Why can’t I get my arse in gear and book some weekends where we can all head down to the West Country and partake in some crazy events? Why can’t I start training for a long distance ultra-endurance event like JOGLE? Give it a few years and the sprog could come with me. Why can’t I put in place the savings and the training that will see me cross the finish line of ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’, the Marathon Des Sables in 3 or 4 years’ time?
Strangely enough, having a child has made me MORE appreciative of my time on this earth. It has made me MORE driven to follow my heart and plan and dream of high aspirations for myself. I want to dream big and succeed to show the sprog what she can do with her life. I want her to dream even bigger than I do and achieve more than I can ever imagine. I want to be the role model for her.
It can’t hurt that I want her to be proud of me too!!
As parents, we can literally do whatever we feel like.
Having a kid doesn't limit us to what we can do. It opens doors to experiencing the wonderful world through the eyes of a child. It might take a little more planning and time but we can achieve whatever we feel like.
Dream big. Plan big. Follow your heart.