Message to our unborn daughter

At some point in the next two or three weeks we will finally meet and you will begin your life in this World. Your impeding arrival has already changed our lives and I am in no illusion that that impact will decrease after you take your first breaths. We are embarking on a whole new adventure together and it’s going to be a roller coaster ride. As John T said “having kids will ruin your life… In the best possible may”. I am sure he’s right.

I have no doubt you will be beautiful and perhaps more importantly I am sure that you will be tough and smart. The next 20 years will be as big a challenge for us all so in the calm before the storm I have jotted down a few bits of advice that may be useful:

• Be empathetic, kindness and empathy are the critical attributes that define the essence of what it is to be human.
• Always try and protect the weak. Being strong and smart is a gift that should be used wisely, the bully is the lowest of the low.
• Work hard/play hard – there is only one life and most probably nothing after it, so don’t waste your time doing nothing, seize every moment and use it to its full. Carpe Diem.  
• Cultivate an enquiring mind – try at all times to be open minded and enquiring, question everything and striving to understand the world around you, avoid dogma.
• Avoid ignorance – despite the belief of a large sub-culture in Britain, there is nothing attractive or endearing about willful ignorance. Being thick is not cool.
• Avoid arrogance it’s ugly. Be proud of your success but endeavor not to boast or assume superiority. Remember that success is often fleeting.
• Avoid complacency – never stop striving to be better, never feel like you have arrived at the top because when you do, the only way is down.
• Embrace diversity – because somebody is different does not make them better or worse than you, in fact it probably means that they have something to teach you.
• Have fun and enjoy your friends – at the end of the day happiness is what we all strive for.

Very few people are smart enough to plan the trajectory that their lives will follow and even fewer have the capacity to execute such plans. Far better is to define a philosophy and see where it takes you. There are many things that you can do, not because A will lead to B and then to C, but because they feel right, or because it feels like a nice thing to do. Most will not get you anywhere but the most unexpected can lead to doors that you never imagined being opened.

 

And remember whether you turn into a pink princess or a tomboy, a rocket scientist or a beautician – we will always love you.