Some observations gathered during this week:

• Saturday: Coffee does not cure grumpiness caused by lack of sleep… but lack of coffee can make the grumpiness more acute.

• Sunday: It is not setting a good example if you get upset with child No#1 about her occasional careless handling of child No#2, only to accidentally stand on child No#1’s foot, causing a huge uproar.

• Tuesday: Listening to Coldplay will not make a down person happier.

• Thursday: The large billboard by the AT&T building on Mulgrave Street would, if the sexes were reversed, cause a storm of controversy.

• Saturday: “Uncle Alan” in our extended family no longer solely means Lieutenant Alan Robert Thomas Macdougall. It also means me.

• Saturday: That first ever smile, even if it’s a beginner’s effort that looks more like a curled lip sneer, is very very special.

• Saturday: None of the meanings of the word “dry”, that also connote lack of moisture, could be applied to the supposedly kiln-dried but actually damp, resinous, twisted and chunky cord of firewood purchased at great expense from Valley Wood and carted at great personal effort down our 114 steps.

• Saturday: It is not bad parenting to slap on a video (The Wiggles – Space Dancing) in an effort to obtain an hour’s peace. We hope.