Camping with the Mediocre Dad

Camping tips, tricks and advice from a fairly average parent and a reformed dad blogger

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Fatherhood²: Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it’s Back to Work I Go…

Posted on July 24, 2011March 3, 2018 by Henry Elliss

Just a little over 3 weeks after little Frederic was born, today marks the last day of my paternity leave – a realisation which has made me rather sad this weekend. As I’ve said in past posts during these few weeks, I really appreciate the paternity leave we in the UK get – and especially how accommodating my own employers have been. But it’s going to be a bit of a shock to the system getting up for work tomorrow…

It won’t be a the early morning that’s tough – though a poor night’s sleep tonight make me a bit more bleary-eyed I imagine. It won’t be the working either – aside from the fact that my iPhone has allowed me to stay in touch with the office and my emails during my time off, I enjoy my job immensely so it won’t be hard to jump back into. The hard part will be being away from Freddie (and Robert) for most of the day.

It’s also going to be tough leaving Sara in the morning, knowing that she’s going to be coping alone all day when she’s had me around for the past 3 weeks to help. I suspect I’m often more of a hindrance mind you, and I have every confidence that after a few days of settling in she’ll be running things like a well-oiled machine – but it’s still going to make me feel very guilty when I kiss them all goodbye in the morning.

Luckily for me, I’ve only got a couple of weeks back in the hot-seat before we’re heading off for a week’s holiday in Devon to celebrate my parent’s 40th Wedding Anniversary – so I’m being eased back in quite gently, relatively speaking.

I suppose I should be grateful that I live in a country where I’m given any time-off at all – these three weeks have been really brilliant for building a bond with little Frederic, and I’ve already been able to witness so many tiny milestones in his development. Sitting here contemplating a return to the rat race makes it very easy to worry that I’ll miss out on some of his bigger milestones later on – will I see him take his first steps, or roll over for the first time?

Thinking back to Robert’s own milestones though, I don’t really feel like I missed much – or if I did, I don’t remember what I missed anyway! :D

So think of me (if you’re awake) tomorrow at about 7.15, when I bid my burgeoning family adieu for the first time…. Then think of me again at about 12.45 – I suspect I’ll be enjoying a sneaky lunch-time nap on the Tamar sofas…! :)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print
  • Babies
  • Fatherhood²
  • Parenting
  • paternity leave
  • Tamar
  • Work
  • Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    henweb

    henweb

    Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

    View Full Profile →

    Instagram Gallery

    Obligatory snow shot ❄️ Obligatory snow shot ❄️
    A few photos from my slightly hair-raising morning A few photos from my slightly hair-raising morning walk. Some lovely sunrises, lots of ice on the canal and a couple of rivers and lakes that were quickly merging together, at the expense of the newly-laid track. At least my wellies stayed strong!
    Instagram post 18021846115464989 Instagram post 18021846115464989
    A photo from my Thursday morning walk. One good th A photo from my Thursday morning walk. One good thing to come from this week’s rail strikes (and the subsequent week WFH) was my daily sunrise walks - something I really miss when I have to go into London. Fingers crossed that 2023 allows for a few more of them.
    Merry Christmas, instagram family and friends. Ple Merry Christmas, instagram family and friends. Please enjoy this photo of our beautiful but low-key Christmas decorations, hung in the splendor of our delightful Tudor home.
    Good morning from Somerset #NoFilter Good morning from Somerset #NoFilter
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    A little ad for some stuff




    Subscribe by RSS

    RSS Feed RSS – Posts

    Recent posts

    • 5 Tips to Make Family Travel Easier December 2, 2022
    • 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow August 18, 2022
    • Summer Holidays in the Mountains? 4 Reasons Why You Should Go for it! June 7, 2022
    • Family Camping for Beginners – A Guide to Buying a New Tent May 31, 2022
    • The Best New Beauty Treatments to Prepare for Summer May 31, 2022

    A bigger ad for some stuff

    Recent Comments

    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | Camping with the Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Food, glorious food
    • Tiana on Fatherhood²: The Ultimate Octonauts Quiz
    • The best camping gadgets for your next trip with the family | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
    • Dynamite dad blogs | Samuel Windsor on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Camping with Babies & Toddlers

    My Brimpton Village history website

    My Mastodon profile

    © 2023 Camping with the Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
    Find me on Mastodon