I always knew I didn't think the same as most.

April 1st 1981- the day I came into the world. As I grew most people agreed quite an apt date for me to be born as I did enjoy acting the fool.  As one of 6 kids, I did enjoy always having the last word ....something my wife would say I still enjoy now.  There were signs that I did things a little different and some things which now would be labelled traits.  I spent many a day in hospital because i didn't have a big appetite, strike that I had a big appetite but only for a select few items...who remembers the stack of cheap pizzas you could buy were it was like 10 for a pound(my kids wonder what this is, I need to explain the euro didn't arrive till I was 18). I also was always getting bumped and bruised again something I have learnt is another ADHD trait.

Fast forward to now-I have a very understanding wife and I will come back to her in an upcoming post as its more then she deserves after 20 years with me.  I have 3 super kids. A young boy of 4 who is a reincarnation of an older Irish grandad, he makes me laugh every day without a doubt.  I have a 13 year old son who is smarter and more awesome then I will ever be, yes he drives me mad at times but his love for film, acting and dancing means we are never short on something to talk about. And then in the middle I have my amazing 9 year old daughter who was diagnosed with Autism a couple of years ago.  We always had an idea that she would be diagnosed but found it difficult during Covid times to get heard and get help.  She is very important in my story as it was her doctor who actually called out some of my traits and suggested I get tested for Autism and ADHD. I will do the autism test at a later date, as you know these are expensive in Ireland.  Any way back to my daughter, we share some traits which as you can imagine in a busy house can lead to some disagreements and in my blog Il cover some of these. She will grow up to be a nurse or a vet etc., when you are ill or an animal is ill she is awesome and turns into Florence Nightingale.  

As I said I always knew I didn't think the same as others and I had things that happened that made me question myself - If someone asked for a quick chat in work, my mind jumped to worse case scenario- I wouldn't be able to sleep, and i definitely struggled to contain my fear. And when I had masked all day which we will also visit later i would be exhausted.  but that's enough for a first post and I hope you will visit back for more were I will delve into support, ideas to help us cope or just some funny stories about the life of an Atypical Irish dad.