In my last post back in August, I announced the birth of my first child – Isla. I also announced the fact that becoming a dad would play an integral part in the evolution of my blog. Where The Edison Project began as a souped-up bucket list focused on pushing me to experience new things, it has grown into something that scales many dimensions. The common theme has centred on the concept that no experience should be considered a failure. This philosophy could not be any more applicable to my current situation. In becoming a dad, I have unlocked an abundance of new experiences to face, many of which have no right or wrong way to approach. Through my blog, I plan to share some of these experiences, and hopefully pay it forward through some form of wisdom. So I welcome you to The Edison Project – ‘Playing Dad’ series.

Where better to start than the beginning? I had been with my girlfriend for just over three years. The biggest shared responsibility we had was our two goldfish, Eddie, and Albert. Some may refer to this as a standard diversion tactic that comes with the territory of moving in together. Whilst subconsciously this may be true to some degree, the level of responsibility that comes with owning goldfish can never compete with the responsibility of producing and parenting a human being.

The topic of children was one we had shied away from over those three years. On my part, this was due to a conversation we had prior to making our relationship official. Hana had made it clear she was not looking to have children, and this contrasted with my view on the subject. Without the foresight to see where our relationship would go, it was not a big concern of mine at the beginning, but as things began to blossom, I found myself treading eggshells on the subject in fear of ruining the happiness between us. Whilst this sounds like quite an obstacle in a relationship, the solution was a lot simpler than you would have imagined.

The next stage is the thin blue line, confirmation that your partner is pregnant. Hana made the announcement to me in the lead up to Christmas. I was so happy I wanted to shout from the rooftops, but my girlfriend’s wishes were for me to remain quiet about the news until later in the pregnancy. A decision was made to hold off making the announcement until the five-month scan.

Whilst we were celebrating the baby news within the confines of our flat, the outside world remained oblivious to our news. This presented the challenge that we would have to hide the fact Hana was pregnant over the biggest drinking period of the year – Christmas. In this scenario, you have to play it really clever. I have friends who have made secret pacts with bar staff or the person pouring the drinks to ensure they serve non-alcoholic drinks on all their orders. Others simply attempt the ‘on medication’ excuse, but this is often too easy to see through. We managed to pull it off with a series of elaborate lies, the best of which we used with family on Christmas Day. Hana is Czech and their Christmas celebration culminates on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. We simply played on the fact that Hana had celebrated a little too hard the night before. On arrival, she had one drink that lasted the whole day and was slowly drained by no other than yours truly.

With Hana not drinking, I also decided to cut my alcohol consumption to a minimum. My excuse was simple. I made a bet with Hana that I could withstand alcohol for more than a month. This was the outside story. My first sentence in the paragraph holds the key here, the word ‘minimum’. In reality, I planned a few cheat days (that lasted weekends and weeks in some instances). My progress was actually pretty impressive as I made it to mid-February without consuming any alcohol. The slip-up came after football one Saturday. My friend caught me off-guard and asked whether I wanted a pint. The next thing I know I am half way through my pint when it hits me regarding my error.