NORTHERN PLANNER

Three unrelated facts. We watched Finding Neverland last weekend, it's a Bonfire party at Will'sGrandma's tomorrow and it's Christmas very, very soon.

What brings them together is the way being a new-ish parent changes how you look at things. I used to moderate groups a lot more than I do now and always got frustrated at the Mum who talks about everything from the point of view of her kids. Still annoys me but I understand it a little now. It's inevitable that your perspective on stuff changes when you have kids.

Finding Neverland is about lots of things, but mainly about the magic, imagination and innocence of childhood and the pain of losing a loving parent. I wept a little watching this for the first time and I'm not ashamed to say that thinking about my little boy and how much he loves his Mum enhanced the emotions this film evokes.

That's related to Bonfire Night and Christmas, both are events that lose their magic as you get older, that you value for bringing family together and, with Christmas,  being allowed to be nice to people without them looking at you funny. But with a little boy, the wonder comes back as you see it all through his eyes. I'm excited for him and can't wait to see his face when the fireworks start going off, or when he's helping (or most likely hindering) Mum to put the lights on the Christmas tree or stare with wide eyed amazement at the Christmas markets in Manchester.

It's tinged with a little pain, you remember being that innocent and feeling that loved and safe and know it can't be like that again, but that just makes you more motivated to make THEM feel like that.

Yes, kids make things magic again. We're very lucky.