#Lovember the 14th. Family part 2

Joel.

Joel forced his way into the world in March 1997. I made quite a fuss about his 10lb 9oz painful entry and then laughed rather rudely at his enormous squashed purple face and angry wrinkled expression.

We've laughed with Joel ever since. He has a brilliant sense of humour.

Joel is remarkably accident prone and has worried us several times. He fell on his face and knocked his front teeth in twice as a toddler; he has broken his arm, his shoulder, his wrist, his face, his head, his eye. There's a sense that life is telling him to get a desk job.

Joel's body has decided to grow one heck of a lot and very fast in the last few years. He's suddenly over 6ft tall. I guess that might have something to do with all the accidents. How can you have coordination and a sense of space if your space and self keep changing?


Joel has always been interested in how things work, and before he could walk he was obsessed with things with wheels. I sensed in his early years that he would have an interest in engineering, and it seems he does.

There's a quiet, no nonsense, reliable steadiness about Joel. He's really good with his 8-year-old little bugger of a sister, and his interest in understanding what makes things work extends to the actualities and practicalities of everyday life. He's what I can only describe as "grounded" in the very best sense of the word.

I'm so pleased to have a lovely young man as my son. He defies most of the silly stereotypes about blokes and for that I am relived/delighted/thrilled and immensely proud.

Joel left school this year and is now at 6th form college studying engineering. I'm really enjoying watching him wearing what he wants, making his own way on public transport and practising being a grown up.
I asked him if he's pictured himself in the future and what he might be doing as an adult and he said, "Nope." I like that.

I asked his big sister just now to think of something significant about Joel and she said "A good sense of humour."
I like that too.

He is really likeable.

Nice one, Joel.



(In the photo today he is finally eating again after a nasty 2-day tummy bug. )