The holiday when I became a stay-at-home dad

I’ve been asked by travel agent Thomas Cook to share one of my favourite holiday #DadMoments photos.

I chose this snap from almost 5 years to the day in 2012, when our daughter was a 5 month old baby. It was taken in a cafe on Venice Beach, California.

LA has been a happy place for me. I first went there for a holiday between college and getting my first job. My subsequent career took me there many times to interview Hollywood celebs. Later, I moved to NZ with my wife, and LA has often been a stopover destination between UK (where I am from) and NZ (where my wife is from).

On this occasion we were actually returning from the UK back to our then home of NZ. We had just been back to the UK for the first time with our baby daughter, introducing her to UK family and friends. On the return leg, this was our last dose of summer sun before NZ’s winter on our arrival.

This holiday marked an important transition in our lives. I had left NZ for our UK holiday at the end of a freelance contract. When we arrived back, after this brief stay in LA, my wife returned to work and I became a stay-at-home dad. I have been one ever since.

There’s lots I love about this photo. The Farrah Fawcett babygrow our daughter is wearing. My top from Ponza in Italy, where my wife and I spent our honeymoon. My pair of Ray Bans, which I thought looked cool, and so of course were subsequently pulled apart by our daughter some months later.

But mostly, I love how happy our daughter looks. And five years on she continues to look this happy, well most of the time…

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Thomas Cook want you to share your favourite #DadMoments photos, and you could win a £1000 Thomas Cook Gift Card!

This dad moment could either be of you AS a dad, or of you AND your dad. Share your photo, with the #DadMoments hashtag. All images will be posted on the Thomas Cook site for all to enjoy, and the one judged to be the best will win the prize.

Head to the #DadMoments page for more info.

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Thomas Cook.

5 thoughts on “The holiday when I became a stay-at-home dad”

  1. Ah Rayban Aviators if I’m not mistaken? yes, I had a pair of them thinking I was cool. When I was 15. Anyway, you clearly got your little one used to long haul travel at a young age. I can’t imagine it personally, doing flights that long. Very poignant image with you being at such a cross roads in your life. A definite #Dadmoment.

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