We just watched ‘The Bucket List’ – starring Jack Nicholson an Morgan Freeman. It was quite a moving film about two oldish guys, two very different guys who are both told they have 6 months to live. They then create a bucket list of things they want to do before they die. Things like skydiving, see something majestic, kiss the most beautiful girl in the world, etc.

Have to say, the most moving bit – the most memorable bit – of the film for me was a bit where Morgan Freeman described how his marriage had become stale and all focused on the kids without them knowing. When the kids left he looked at his wife and couldn’t remember why he loved her in the first place. That scares me. It’s such an easy thing to happen. I’ve witnessed it happen first-hand. With our first child, now almost 9 months old, I can really understand how that can happen to a couple, and how I – as a husband – need to guard against that from happening. Before you know it 30 years have passed.

I and the guys who watched the movie made our own Bucket Lists. Most list items involved spending time with friends and family. We set ourselves the challenge of making a list of 3 things. For a long time I could only think of 1 – ‘to spend every single remaining moment I could with those who truly mattered to me. My family and friends’. At the time of writing the list, all I could think about were my wife and little girl. All the stuff about going to places, eating nice food … that didn’t really appeal.

None of our lists contained anything work or career related and I’ve kept hold of that piece of paper as a reminder. You don’t want to be making that list when time is about to run out. Identify what really matters to you and use your time wisely doing these things.

So. A week into life with an iPhone and I’ve managed to get hold of the Wordpress app. So let’s test it…

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like life is about passing milestones? Lunch. Home-time. End of the week. Pay day. End of the year. Birthday. Christmas. New year. Decade. Millenium. Retirement. Surely life isn’t just about milestones …

I’ve had a lovely week off between jobs. This week has mainly involved shopping for baby stuff, moving lots of things into a self storage unit, our second of three antenatal classes, hospital appointments, and a tour of the labour ward at Kings College Hospital in Dulwich.

Notes from the antenatal class

• Pain-relief in labour is really only needed before you start pushing. Pushing itself acts as a kind of pain-relief (apparently).
• Other 1st-stage pain-relief includes flanels soaked in (very) hot water on the back, the 3 massage techniques (ball of hand on base of spine, finger-nails making an ‘M’ shape on the back, and rotating thumbs all the way down either side of the spine).
• Ideal room temperature for babies is 18 degrees celcius.
• Remember to bring the baby’s ‘red book’ and ‘discharge papers’ (and car seat) to bring the baby home.
• For washable nappies, you will need 18 – 24 for each size. Exact quantity will depend on how often you wash them. Good brands include Tots Bots and Terry Nappy. You’ll need about 3 outer linings. Use microfibre.
• Use Bio-d detergent. No scented stuff. Try mother-ease.com.
• Nappies must be changed at least every 4 hours, regardless of whether it’s been used.
• Wool nappy covers with lanolin sanitises against bacteria!
• Newborns can use large folded muslin squares (80cm x 80cm) as nappies.
• Machine-wash nappies at 50 degrees with an extra rinse. Before putting the nappies in the wash, rinse them / soak them in a bucket of cold water – with a lid on. You can add some white vinegar / bi-carbonate soda. Don’t use nappy san.

Brain-dump over and out. Also, below is a lovely chart about room temperature and number of sheets / blankets to use for the baby.

I’ve always thought the leaving speeches people give when leaving our agency – when people gather round and your line manager talks about you – to be the closest thing to being at your own funeral. And the added bit of ‘here’s a selection of what people thought about x’ make it feel even more like a funeral. Almost expect someone to hang a wreath across my neck. It’ll be mine next week. Quite sad, but time to look forward. Experience-wise and people-wise, it’ll be a hard task for any workplace to live up to the last 2 years I’ve had here.