Wife has been sick for the last little while and the baby Usurper has also been a bit crook (and has also been getting the odd new tooth), so to try and give them a bit of a break I spent a fair chunk of today out and about at a market and then some shops with Little Miss.

We had a pretty good day, we played at a park, ate a yummy cupcake, saw some friends of hers and were largely tantrum free while out.

The one things that did strike me was just how wonderful your kids can make you feel. A simple hug, and ‘I love you Dad’, or ‘I had a good day today’ and your hearts melts. They can an do give you some much pleasure and happiness.

Although as you can guess from the title, what they giveth they can also taketh away.

Today on the way home in the car we were having a chat about life in general and singing along to a song called, ironically as it turns out, I like to sing.

As we pulled into the driveway at home the following came from the back seat:

‘I had a lot of fun today!’ warm fuzzy feeling washes over me.

Then without a pause, ‘Don’t sing Dad, you’re a bad singer’, which despite all those years spent in a band doesn’t bother me because it is a fair cop. Then the killer.

‘You’re really old Dad, and you’ve got no hair, and you’re a really really bad singer’.

Talk about being shot down from those closest too you. The worse bit is that I know that it wasn’t said with any malice at all, or even as a subtle dig, toddlers just aren’t that sophisticated - it was just a statement of fact, pure, simple, honest, and ever sooooooooooooo devastating. Then again maybe I am fragile and approaching my 40th birthday midlife crisis……….