“with great power comes great responsibility”.

Our little boy David is now just about eight weeks old. At such a young age, he has little to no control over his circumstances or his welfare. He is reliant on his parents to care for him, to protect him, and to ensure he can grow to an age where he can start taking some responsibility for himself.

As a parent, I have a duty to provide this level of care. Sometimes, that requires difficult, but necessary decisions, that are reflective of the great responsibility that has been bestowed upon me.

Other times, however, it presents the opportunity to have just a little fun. To focus a bit more on the power, and a little less on the responsibility.

I find there to be something oddly fantastic about babies wearing pants that have a ridiculously high waistband. In combination with an overly large butt created by wearing a nappy underneath, a pair of pants pulled up high hints at some small semblance of a maturity and wisdom far beyond the actual age of the baby. In the case of a boy, such as David, it is almost like transporting him 80 years into the future, to the time when he himself is a senior citizen.

I’m sure we have all seen the nice old men who wear their sensible dress pants high. This old man would normally also have a button up long sleeved shirt and possible a fedora. The old man you are imagining is endearing, right? Go ahead and try to deny it.

This leads to the question, why not bring that same endearing quality to the present? Why does he need to wait 80 years to benefit from that kind of goodwill? Why not combine the endearing nature of that old man you have imagined, with the undeniable cuteness of a new baby?

Much to Hannah’s chagrin, sometimes I simply can’t help myself. The opportunity to wield my power over the boy becomes too much for me to resist.

At times like that, those pants simply must ride high.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to speak at a Father’s Day function1 of The WA Club, regarding what fatherhood means to me. My role was to represent the ‘new father’, speaking alongside two others: John Goodlad as the experienced father, and former Governor of Western Australia, Ken Michael, who represented the role of the grandfather.

Of course, I only had five weeks of parenting experience to draw upon in preparing and presenting my talk. Given my lack of real-world experience, I chose to start by reminding the other parents in the room of some of the joys that come with a new baby. Examples I provided included their delicious soft skin, the feel of their body relaxing as they drift off to sleep in your arms, and or course, the celebration of poos and wees!2

Beyond those recollections, I also chose to speak about my vision for what I would like my fathering style, and the underlying philosophy that guides that style, to be.

This philosophy revolves around seeing fatherhood as stewardship. Stewardship may be defined as ‘the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving’.

It would be very easy, and almost desirable, to attempt to parent David in a way that would see him grow into a mini-me, mimicing my interests, passions and personality traits. Yet, taking a stewards’ view, it is more appropriate that I parent David in a way that allows him the freedom to make decisions that will allow him to become the person he wants to be.

Just as I have arrived where I am today as a result of the decisions and choices I made along the way, in parenting David I should provide him the freedom and opportunity to make choices that will allow him to follow his calling, and become the person he wants to be – not necessarily the person I want him to be.

Of course, this is not me abrograting my responsibilities as a parent. My very important job is to teach, provide and protect, in a way that will equip David with the ability to make sensible and appropriate decisions, understanding that each choice has ramifications and consequences.

Ultimately, I do not believe that I can adopt a command and control methodology to parenting. I need to be a Dad who is nurturing, guiding, and supporting. A true steward.

Everything is in hand, originally uploaded by Andrew Canion & Hannah Beazley.

It’s moments like these that make you realise what is really important in life.

So much of what we consider important, probably isn’t. I am guilty of this – I get caught up in things that seem important or meaningful at the time, but really aren’t when I take a wider view of the world.

Taking this a step further, when I think about the trials and tribulations of my life compared to what they could be had I be born in a different time; in a different place; or to different parents – or a combination of these, I imagine I would have a very different view of what is important. I might value survival, or safety, or world domination, ahead of the priorities I hold now.

Now, however, I find that what is important to me in this life is changing. This is happening as so many things around me – and even me, undergo change.

It is apparent that I have to be flexible. There is no reason why that which I established as priorities in my first thirty years of life should remain priorities now and into the future. This is, in fact, a very liberating realisation. I can let go of things. I can start afresh. I can change and adapt, and that is okay and allowable. I shouldn’t let my past dictate my future.

We have the ability to adjust our values and priorities as we move through life. People are very unique in that regard. So, outside Maslow’s hierarchy, once we have satisfied our basic needs, we can allow our value sets to be defined and redefined as we see fit.

I think right now, I am moving through such a change. Things that have been important to me in the past, are not so important now. Things that did not hold value for me before, do now. This is a change that I am willing to embrace.

DSC_0565.jpg, originally uploaded by Andrew Canion & Hannah Beazley.

David had the opportunity to meet his Pop a few days ago. This was fantastic for the two of them, and Hannah also appreciated the chance to see her Dad – even if only for a short time.

It was very fortunate that the the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, which brought Kim back to Perth for a few days, was held here, of all places. It really worked out well for our family!

Now, it is back again, running on WordPress, which has come a long way since I last used it.

So, who knows whether it will stay running this time. To be honest, I have no idea what to put on it. But at least I’m getting value for money from my hosting account now – their server is having to work a little bit again.

DSC_0272.jpg, originally uploaded by Andrew Canion & Hannah Beazley.

Here’s a photo of me and my little man, David at just a couple of weeks old.

Already he has stolen my heart. I just love the little guy!

Zzz…, originally uploaded by @takumi.

It’s not my photo, but how great is this?

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Hannah and I refer to this as doggy self service. They go to the distribution point, make their selection, and then proceed to tear it apart.

Jeff has just walked out with a nice heavyweight piece of paper and proceeded to tear it apart – using his ‘paws as hands’ – another cute trait of dogs. It got me thinking as to why our two dogs both love doing this so much. My only thought is that it has something to do with simulating the act of ripping flesh from a carcass. Perhaps that is the call of the wild? The tearing sensation of the paper and its associated sounds might relate to a canine pleasure?

In any case, doggy self service makes a huge mess with paper bits everywhere. But given the joy they get from it, and the cuteness that it offers me, I’m happy to live with it.