My iPhone is pretty old. If you must know, it’s an iPhone 12 Pro. Released over six years ago. Stating the obvious – the battery isn’t quite what it used to be.
As soon as the day begins, the battery falls rather sharply. The underlying cause is probably the time I spend absorbing social media content/podcasts/general Arsenal content (let’s not go there after Tuesday’s result).
By the time the day gets going, I need to top up the phone battery in order for it to make it through the rest of the day. At 50% I charge the phone. I get to about 70% before I need to grab my phone and do some sort of running around/errand. I get to 30% and I put it on charge but by the time it gets to 50% I have to disconnect and find a quick recipe to make something for dinner.
I play music from the phone to keep the kids occupied in the evening. The battery hits 20%. When the day is over and the kids are in bed, the phone is on 3%. I lay in bed and watch a YouTube video… the battery dies.
Here’s the twist… The phone battery is a metaphor for my own energy levels.
Groundbreaking stuff, I know. Another OddFather post about being knackered. Bear with me.
The thing is – I can’t seem to reach 100%. My energy levels are consistently at 30%. Recharging in micro doses only takes me to a max of 50-60%. What will get me to a 100%? At this point, probably a 2 week long holiday on my own would do it. Something that’s obviously not possible given the arrival of the OddBaby coming very soon.
Then I look over at Mrs OddFather.
In phone terms, she too has an iPhone 12, but not the Pro. But with the same amount of aging, she seems to have a super-charger of some sort.
We went to Warwick Castle yesterday. By lunchtime I was wanting to go home. But Mrs OddFather was determined to show the kids all the Halloween stuff they hadn’t seen yet. This involved climbing several flights of stairs to a silent disco and wandering around some time-travelling show thing that I wasn’t paying much attention to. In my defence, I was carrying a toddler who refused to walk!
Today, we’ve spent the day doing some errands, and whilst I’m slowing down, Mrs OddFather is speeding up. Is this nesting? I don’t remember her being like this with the other pregnancies. She’s powering through her to-do list while I’m contemplating whether sitting down counts as an activity. I’m envious of her energy, but then I try to keep up to her energy but probably do myself more damage in doing so!
So, that is to say, with mere weeks from the OddBaby’s arrival, the pregnancy is going well. The house is being prepared, the car is ready – just need to pack the bag for the hospital at some point. You know, the usual: Crisps, chocolates, biscuits, sweet… and whatever Mrs OddFather needs.
In the meantime, all I can do is prepare myself by continuing to micro-charge and keeping my energy consumption to a minimum.
Except we’ve got Sea Life Centre and the Lego Discovery Centre on Thursday, followed by Alton Towers on Friday.
Got to love half-term.
Ah fuck it, the iPhone 12 Pro may as well be replaced by the iPhone Duo.
