Which is more difficult, to awaken one who sleeps or to awaken one who, awake, dreams that he is awake?

Here is Henry on his first birthday this time last year. As you can see by his t-shirt, we'd been out campaigning hard in the lead up to the Federal election. In fact, I put down Rudd's eventual victory to Henry's endorsement.

You see, Henry was a committed social democrat at that point. He's since shifted somewhat. Before I put him to bed last night, Henry, Ezra and I fell into our habit of discussing the work of Søren Kierkegaard. Henry is something of a fan, Ezra less so and I have long exhibited a tendency to distance myself from the Existentialists, as a rule, because they are rubbish at telling humorous stories and are thus real downers when it come to dinner parties.

"But father," Henry pleaded, "once you label me you negate me".

"Nonsense," I say.

He then started crapping on about something to do with fish, or sheep, and believing and unbelieving, and something about a cactus (or maybe it was synthesis?) Whatever.

That's the thing about Existentialists, always spouting nonsense.

I am hoping that it is just a phase and he'll drift back to the German Idealists.

[That wraps up the Henry-fest (Henry-mania?) for his second birthday. If you are hanging out for more of a Henry fix, you can always click the tag "Henry" below, and that should display all Henry-related material on the blog.]