you've got mail

I'm kind of surprised at how much we've taken to this parenting business. I know I've had very little practice with very little people in my life except the odd cuddle with a friend's bubby - followed by the swift 'pass back to mum' move . But it's true what people say, it all kind of comes to you as you go along... so far anyway.

Despite this, I can't help feeling like we're on some kind of crazy ride, a virtual reality parenting game - a kind of human tamagotchi that we get to feed, change and play with for a while but give back at the end of the game

Occasionally I'm reminded me that it's all very real and for some reason this letter arriving in the post was one of those moments. This was Alex's first piece of mail, a very official looking - note the use of his full name... it's kind of like he's in trouble. And the whole 'parent or guardian of' business reminds me of an bad US drama series, where the parents answer the door and there's two grave-faced policemen saying "mam, are you the parent or guardian of Alexander Auberon Butler?". It turns out it's just a letter from the Home Office with his passport application. So now I'm off to get a passport photo for the little man... at least he's too young to be embarrassed by it.