Passing The Baton To The Next Generation (But Not Just Yet…)

Passing The Baton To The Next Generation (But Not Just Yet…)

- Paul Tonkinson

MY 50TH BIRTHDAY approaches. But before that, we go on a family holiday to Canada and theUS. I’m still in post-hernia-surgery mode, so on the way to the airport my eldest son carries the largest luggage; it’s like handing over a generational baton. There’s the classic dad stuff I can do, of course: I remain the driver (they’ll have to rip the car keys out of my cold, dead hands before I give up that responsibility), but I see a pattern emerging. The kids are in their late teens and early twenties, and they’re cresting. My wife and I are ever so slowly drifting towards the touchlines. The kids find us funnier than they used to. Often when we’re not trying to be.

We spend a week in a lake. Every morning I rise early, stretch for 10 minutes or so and run around it twice. It’s 11 hilly kays or so on soft paths – a brilliant, peaceful and beautiful start to the day. Afterward, I jump straight in for a swim in the crystal-clear water. It’s amazing. I emerge from the lake completely refreshed, stunningly alert. Ten minutes later I’m having a kip.