100 Days

One hundred days ago, a young lady entered my life. In general, young ladies can cause all sorts of complications in life, and this one came with plenty of warnings about sleepless nights and constant states of fatigue. To date, I have only been woken at four in the morning once. And she was smiling.

savannah that smileTo see a small person enter the world and watch them grow is a curious experience. Never have I seen so many different emotions in a matter of seconds… how I wish I knew what she is thinking. Most mornings I am met by delighted gurgles that touch my heart and smiles that light up the room. Who knew changing nappies could be so fun?

Before I moved to this small rock, my life was largely nomadic for the best part of a decade. My belongings fit into a backpack and the longest I called somewhere home was only six months during a period of eight years. Oftentimes, I moved every few days, hitchhiking, walking, or exploring simply for the sake of enjoying the world around me. The more you see, the more wonder you find in the world. The more people you chance upon, the greater your faith in humanity. Living in a single place is a very different life, but we learn to search for adventure in new ways.

As my daughter ‘celebrates her 100th birth day’ I am excited to share future adventures with her. She refuses to crawl, but is desperate to walk, and her bright blue eyes constantly rove the world around her. For the most part, she is a calm child, happy and smiling, and for this I am grateful. She took four flights before becoming a centurion without complaint, and my life continues with her in tow. Whether walking by the sea, going to a restaurant, or simply popping out to a shop, I am happy to take her with me.

Although little over three months, she has started eating real food in her high chair and loves spending time in her walker, although she can only push backwards as she is too small to reach the floor. She is strong for her age – although this is of small consequence – but if she carries anything forward from her present self, I hope that it is her sereneness and observation of the outside world. I too am much happier outside where the world has so much to offer.

This phase of my life is a new sort of adventure; instead of rafting down rivers as a pirate, I share in the everyday discoveries of my new best friend and share her delight in so many moments of each day. As she grows, I look forward to showing her more of the world, of seeing it from the eyes of a child. In a routine life, it’s easy to forget how much wonder there is around us and how incredibly unlikely (thus also incredible) that the world should be as it is, and that we should exist upon it. We should cherish this. Every time I see that huge smile on such a tiny person, I find myself reminded of this.

Savannah, there is so much more to see. I can’t wait to show you.

When my daughter was born, I wrote her a letter which you can read here: Dear Savannah, A Letter To My Daughter

By | 2019-01-20T23:38:34+00:00 January 20th, 2019|Thoughts and Inspiration|0 Comments

Leave A Comment