"I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color"

7 years feels like it has gone by in the blink of an eye. One minute I'm watching that amazing boy of mine make his dramatic entrance in to the world, the next I'm celebrating his 7th birthday. As quickly as it has gone though, that time has been packed full of amazing experiences that have made him the most amazing human being. I have never been more connected to another person and knowing that I have taught him how to read and write etc through his homeschooling is such an amazing feeling, he has taught me so much about myself though too.

You always hope as a parent that you can introduce your little ones to the things that you love yourself, and these things become an interest to them. Sometimes though they take the things that you love and then take that passion one step further. Music has always been a huge thing for me, for as far back as I can remember and I'd say Ive got a pretty eclectic taste. This passion for music has become a big thing with Opeie too, In fact I'd say big chunks of his days revolve around it. If he's not listening to it he's singing to himself, and has now started drumming lessons so that he can play like the artists that he looks up to like Andy Hurley or Travis barker.

It was inevitable that we would eventually get to the point where I could introduce him to one of the things that I loved to do most growing up. Any chance I could get to go to a gig, I was there and over the years I have seen so many amazing bands from all sorts of music genres. As we use Spotify to play all of our music, we are always receiving emails letting us know when our favourite artists are playing locally. When an email came through letting us know that Fall out boy were playing in Birmingham we were so excited. Although I was a little apprehensive about taking a 6-year-old  to a rock gig, they were playing the evening before his birthday, it seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. 

There was so much excitement during the days building up to the gig but on the day that excitement turned to anxiety and Opeie was really worried about being in an arena with so many people (he's never been great in places with lots of people). We headed up to Birmingham a couple of hours early though and pottered about, hitting coffee shops and places of interest along the way. Before we knew it it was go time and the excitement was back. 

Arriving when the doors opened meant that we could get to our seats and watch the arena fill up slowly which definitely worked out better for my little rock enthusiast. The only other issue was always going to be the late night. Come 7:30 any night of the week, Opeie will start to say "I'm tired" and this night was no exception. During the second support act he fell asleep... Bummer! I thought for sure that I was going to have to take him home but I held on and as soon as Fall out boy hit the stage Opeie was up and headbanging all over the place. Ive been to some amazing gigs in my time but this one was unbelievable, maybe it was being there with Opeie, maybe the music? all I know is it was a very special night.

They belted out all of Opeie's favourite songs, which was great because that kept him awake. As we started getting to the end of the evening though it was clear that all the excitement and great music was too much and he looked exhausted so we ducked out a couple of songs before the end. The cold air outside quickly woke him up and the walk along the canal back to the car was filled with singing and talking about what an amazing night we had had. I'm not sure I'd book anymore tickets just yet but what amazing experience for that little rock enthusiast of mine.

Happy 7th birthday Opeie, you are my world. 💖

"Yeah, thats a song for another time"

Music is such an important part of human development, I can't image what life would be like without the music I adore. It has been such an important part of my life since as far back as I can remember. Going to gigs and watching the musicians I loved was how I spent a lot of my evenings gas a teenager and I've been lucky enough to see some amazing bands over the years. With Opeie being so into music too, it was only a matter of time before we moved from listening to music at home and in the car, to being in the stalls seeing the amazing bands live.

Last night marked that awesome milestone of Opeie's first gig and WOW! what a great gig. Thanks to the wonders of Spotify I'd had noticed that one of Opeie's favourite country bands were playing 4 dates in the UK so we quickly booked tickets. It seemed like such a long wait but well worth it. 

As Old Dominion took to the stage last night Opeie's little face beamed, this was clearly where he needed to be more often. He was in his element, dancing and singing along to all the words. He must have been the youngest person there (we did have to lie and say he was 8 after all! shhhhh.....). What was truly amazing to see was that he had a lot of me in him, lost in the music and going for it like no one was watching... and people were watching. I could see groups of people looking at Opeie singing along to every song, telling their friends and smiling. I was so proud of him.

All the excitement was clearly exhausting and when the headliner, Thomas Rhett came on (another of Opeie's favourites), he was clearly shattered so we didn't stay till the end. He did manage to muster up some energy for a little dance off at the end though which really made our night. The excitement in his voice as we walked back to the car was awesome to listen to. I knew being a dad was going to be amazing but this little guy blows my mind, I'm so smitten!

Of course, Old Dominion had to be Immortalised in LEGO too!