Full time dad

I’m currently recovering after spending four full days looking after Harry on my own.

Melissa decided to get away for a couple of days with her mum and sister, leaving me in charge. Now I’ve done the odd day here and there, but never for that length of time so I was a little bit nervous.

I was also slightly concerned about Harry’s reaction. Although he’s not particularly clingy, I did wonder what effect his mum being away for four nights would have on him.

Thankfully, I needn’t have worried. Harry did say “Mummy, gone” a few times while shrugging and raising his hands, but that was about it.

My tactics were simple: tire him out as thoroughly as possible during the day so that he would sleep well at night. This seemed to work pretty effectively – although the fine weather helped – and I even found time to do a bit of housework just to prove to Melissa that I haven’t forgotten how to use the washing machine and iron.
I did get quite a bit of help along the way from my mum and nan, who were on hand to provide tea, cake, support and so on when I wanted some respite.

There were also a couple of minor disasters along the way. On the first evening, while I was wrestling with a zip that had got stuck on one of his coats, Harry managed to find a way through the gate at the bottom of the stairs and was half way up before I managed to grab him.

One another occasion, he managed to get hold of some of Melissa’s make-up and was in the process of colouring our bedroom carpet before I stopped him.

All in all, though, it went very smoothly even if it was tiring. On Sunday afternoon I took Harry to Ty Mawr for a walk. Half way round, Harry decided he wanted to go on my shoulders. It was a warm day and quite hard work. When we reached the car park, Harry wanted to go around again – which meant my shoulders took some more punishment. I’ll say this though, it was more enjoyable than going to the gym.

And the hardest part about the whole experience? Going to back to work.

Ty Mawr revelation

We all like to moan about the council – the roads have got too many pot holes, our council tax is too high, and so on and so on.

Normally, I’m no different but, for a change, I’m going to say something good about Wrexham County Council.

So what’s the reason for this sudden change of attitude? Simple, I visited Ty Mawr Country Park on Sunday – and was bowled over.

For those of you that haven’t visited this fantastic facility in Cefn Mawr, it’s a superbly maintained park that has lovely walks, picnic areas, and play areas, as well as various animals, all in the shadow of the impressive Cefn Viaduct, (which I now know was built in 1848 by Thomas Brassey).

Best of all, there’s no entry fee – although you can make a donation to help with the upkeep of the park – which makes it ideal if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to spend an afternoon.
I’d driven past the entrance on numerous occasions, but I’d never actually visited the park. However, with the weather glorious, Melissa decided it would be the perfect spot for a picnic with Harry.

In fact the only problem was keeping Harry still while we ate our lunch – he was more interested in toddling off to see the animals. He was particularly taken with Hovis, a very large rabbit, and a turkey, whose name escapes me.

Then there were the guinea pigs, goats, sheep and donkeys. Harry was able to pat one of the donkeys but, once he started patting, he didn’t want to stop, which resulted in a tantrum that threatened to shatter a very peaceful afternoon.

Fortunately, with so much to see, the tantrum didn’t last long and Harry was soon smiling again.

It was a perfect way to spend a sunny spring afternoon and, given that Ty Mawr is only a couple of minutes from our front door, I’m sure we’ll be back again very soon.