On parenthood

Earlier this month, I went to France to stay with my best friend, her husband and their baby a week before his christening. Since we live far apart, we don't get to see each other often - so far, since his birth, we've seen each other three times - a week at a time. I stayed with them when he was only three weeks old, then they came to visit me when he was seven months old, and he is now one year old. The good thing about living so far away is that we have to actually stay together when either of us visit. That means, not only spending more time together overall, but also immersing in our respective daily life and routines. Now that they have a baby, it also means that I get to re-experience from a closer point of view what parenthood is. To be fair, being the oldest of six siblings (with between eight and twenty years of difference between me and my siblings) I already have had plenty of hands-on experience. However, back when I was living with my family, I was a minor. Since then,…