12:42 p.m. - 2024-04-13
Never date a musician

I did get home last night in time to make an appearance at the Jam Social, but I felt like a burst ball and was less than useful on bass. I did try my best. Jamie and Uncle Ross were also feeling tired and there was a subdued but cheerful mood. We did manage to get some recording done. A fresh cream black forest cherry chocolate Swiss roll, sliced into rather big portions helped tea break time go smoothly.

I'm feeling as rough as a badger's arse today with this lurgy and The Maid iMessaged me to say she isn't feeling so hot either. Staying in bed to rest and popping a few pharmaceuticals to manage the discomfort seems to be the best plan for both of us.

I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning in time to watch my beautiful daughter attain her professional certification in her chosen career via a live stream from the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. She's done well for herself in her career so far, and I'm beyond proud of her for what she has achieved in life. I don't talk much about my kids on here, mostly as I feel it's a private part of my life I prefer to keep private. As I watched her walk up on to the stage to accept her prize, my whole life as a parent flashed before me.

From witnessing her being born and being the first person to hold her when she was just seconds old, to her first days at junior school and high school, the time has flown by at an incredible pace. The teenage years, oh yes I remember them so well and all that angst, the boy trouble, and the drama that came with those times. Then her first steps into working life, her University graduation, and the move into a professional career that will stand her in good stead for life. To see her settled and happy with a lovely guy who is part of the family now, all the little moments we shared that were just ours alone as father and daughter came flooding back to me. Such precious memories...

I guess as a parent, I've only every wanted her to be healthy and happy in her life, to feel loved, and to support her no matter what decisions she chooses to make. I know I haven't always agreed with some of them, especially her early choices in boyfriends. Never date a musician I once told her in her teens, and what did she do? Yes, she goes out and finds one, and unfortunately he was a drummer. He was the boy that broke her heart for the first time. But she got over him, learned quickly about love, and that musicians don't always make a good choice if it's a steady, reliable partner that's the preferred option.

So much of life isn't perfect, and so much is about learning from the mistakes and choices we make, and not carrying pain, bitterness or displeasure from the less than sensible decisions we've made into the next episode in our lives. Purge that pain I always say, and find your catharsis. If you don't, it will poison you slowly from the inside out.

If anything I don't worry about my daughter so much these days because she's able to look after herself, knows how to deal with her own stuff, and if anything she has always known she can rely on her dad to back her up and be there if she needs me. That's not as often as it once was, but from time to time she will still ask my advice, and for help when she needs a fathers perspective. I know she values that more nowadays as an adult than she ever has. Not all daughters grown up with a father who never lets them down, some don't even have a father in their life at all. She has friends who have grown up with less than supportive parents and has seen how that can affect them in so many ways.

I've always known since my teens that I was destined to be a parent, and I've always known that it would be a lifetime commitment. It never stops really. Once a parent always a parent, and like anything in life, you only ever get out of something what you put into it. I'm so proud of the young woman she has become and I must admit, I do take some personal pride in that. She's the one thing I've done right in my life out of the many things I haven't got right. That counts for something.

I have a business deal to conclude later today with a lovely girl musician called Hannah. She's coming along to visit me so I'd better get organised and try and not to look like i'm hanging by a thread. I wish I could just sleep for the rest of the day, but business is business and I can't let her down.