I have fulfilled a lot of roles so far in my life: son, friend, husband, dad, employee, boss, teammate, brother…
But there’s one role I haven’t had the pleasure of playing yet… until eight weeks ago. That’s when I became an uncle. My sister-in-law gave birth to my niece back in June, meaning I am now Uncle Simon.
She’s a beauty, my little niece. She’s very tiny and so far, she mostly sleeps. But, I think we are going to get along just fine – maybe it’s the way she seemed to smile at my rendition of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ or the way she’s only thrown up on me when I’ve been wearing already dirty clothes. Yep… I’m sure we are going to be best buds.
Both my boys are fairly obsessed with their new cousin. It’s a mixture of cute and terrifying. They really, really like to hold her, touch her face and show off their jumping skills around her. While she’s only a few weeks old their enthusiasm is high risk but I’m sure once the little lady is a bit more robust the boys will be keen to teach her everything they know.
My brother was born to be a Dad and has taken to his new role with incredible enthusiasm. Since becoming a Dad his DIY has improved and he’s started tucking his shirt and telling me ‘it’s just more comfortable’. Despite all the challenges of being new parents both he and my sister in law look incredibly happy and content. Through the sleep deprived daze they seem more complete and it’s already hard to remember life before my niece – I’m looking forward to a life getting to know her better.
