DadTalk

My life as a single working Dad

Many women, of course, cope with two small children on their own. There is no longer anything exceptional about being a lone father, either. But few will have been through quite as gruelling a three years as he has.

Simon Valentine talks to the Telegraph about his demanding life as a single parent.

In neat, red capital letters on his kitchen calendar, 39-year-old Simon Valentine has written “Father’s Day” against today’s date. It is a reminder to send a card to his own father – but he is the one who deserves to be made a fuss of.

Many women, of course, cope with two small children on their own. There is no longer anything exceptional about being a lone father, either. But few will have been through quite as gruelling a three years as he has. Simon first watched his wife, Karen, die an agonising death from pancreatic cancer; then he had to handle his distraught children.

Those children are currently staring wide-eyed down the stairs. It is bedtime and, as children do, they are wheedling and protesting in order to stay up. Henry, three, has taken off his pyjamas and is now careering about; Alicia, five, is demanding another bedtime story. A few months ago, Simon admits that he would have snapped under this charming but exhausting pressure, coming, as it usually did, after a disturbed night, a 5.30am start and a full day’s work.

Read the rest of this inspiring story from the Telegraph