A Little Faith

There was a pretty good excuse for me not updating this blog since Saturday’s defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. For while the game was being played out I was in the middle of the biggest and most important day of my life. On Saturday, November 27th 2010 I became a father.

With contractions starting on Thursday night, it was a horrendous ordeal for my incredible girlfriend Marta, her strength shining through in what was a long and painful night, day, evening, another night and another day! For me the only pain that I suffered was watching her go through this minute by minute and not being able to do anything about it. I dug deep in myself though to find a support that was very much needed through around forty hours of strain.

But at 5pm exactly, my life changed forever. My beautiful baby girl was brought into this world healthy as you like and screaming the house down! Plenty of fathers will tell you this but there really is nothing like the feeling of holding your child for the first time and as I was handed my daughter the emotions of the previous two days came bursting out.

After such an experience there was only one name on our list that fitted perfectly. One word that summed up everything we needed through it and everything we will need from now on to be the best parents possible...Faith.

So Faith Isha Brothers-Marquez is her official name, an addition to a remarkable group of friends and family that were rooting for her from the off. You know who you are, so thank you for all your messages of support through the day and since. Thanks also go to the midwives and doctors of Bath Royal Union Hospital who were immense and patient (though the chances of any of them reading this are incredibly long!).

But the main thanks go to Marta, who has shown courage, bravery and even humour through the birth of our daughter and who I couldn’t imagine ever being without again.

I know this blog is primarily about football but the fact that I didn’t realise the Cobblers had played on Saturday until midnight when I was getting reading to sleep shows you that there are far more important things in life sometimes. Of course things will be back to full working order when I listen in on Saturday’s game with Faith, both in name and in word!

Danny