Dear Leo,
Father's Day is coming up this Sunday.
I wanted to write to you about my own father in this letter, so I got up at 5:00am thinking I could sit in silence with some coffee and my thoughts.
Instead, I'm sitting at the kitchen table watching you watch
Cars 3 on Disney+.
Truth is, I wouldn't want it any other way.
Looking at you gives me all the inspiration I need to write this one, so here goes.
As I write this, you are four and a half years old. By the time you read it, I imagine you'll be much older. Maybe you'll have children of your own. Or maybe you'll simply be trying to make sense of who your dad was.
This week feels special. Not because of Father's Day itself, but because of what it has made me think about. In two days' time, we're hosting an event at Twickenham Stadium. You'll be there too, with Mumma.
In fact, you'll have one of the most important jobs of anyone. You'll be leading us from the England changing room and out towards the pitch. An honour normally reserved for elite athletes.
Whilst you probably won't realise the significance of it yet, I don't think I'll ever forget that moment. And I hope that one day you look back at this chapter of our lives with a smile and a feeling of, "My dad did something pretty cool there."
As I've been planning this event, I've spent a lot of time thinking about fathers. Not Father's Day cards or presents. Fathers.
The men doing their best every day to raise good children. The men carrying responsibility quietly. The men figuring it out as they go. The men who sometimes feel like they exist in the background of the family photo.
Present, dependable, supportive, but often unheard.
I wanted to create a space where fathers could come together and be seen. A space to celebrate the privilege of being a dad, to talk honestly about the challenges that come with it, and to reflect on the values we hope to pass on to our children.
Because fatherhood matters. The conversations matter. And the example we set matters.
More than anything, I hope the evening becomes a reminder that what we leave behind is never as important as what we leave within the people we love.
An illustration of Leo and me sat around the fire - by @projectponce
Your Mum and I recorded a podcast a few days ago and found ourselves talking about Father's Day.
Looking back over my four years as your dad and what this moment in the calendar means to me. As the conversation unfolded, I realised something. A lot of my heart wanted to talk about your grandad.
My dad.
Perhaps that's because becoming your dad has made me appreciate him more than ever. I've started to understand the sacrifices he made that I never saw. The worries he carried that he never shared. The responsibility he felt that I could never fully understand until I became a father myself. The older I get, the more I realise that fatherhood isn't something you master. It's something you inherit. Learn. Adapt. And eventually pass on.
The podcast team and your Mum surprised me with a letter from Grandad during the recording.
Well, technically it was a voice note, and I wasn't expecting it at all.
I don't remember the last time I cried like that. Not because the words were dramatic. But because they were so raw and honest. For a few minutes, I stopped being a father and became a son again, his son.
I could hear the pride in his voice. The slight change in pitch when the words drifted into the deeper, more emotional parts of his heart. The things fathers don't always say out loud. But, grandad was able to do it.
During that voice note, I realised how fortunate I am that we still have time together. Three generations.
Grandad.
Me.
And you.
Not everyone gets that. Not everyone gets the chance to be a son, a father and a grandson all at the same time. And in that moment, I felt incredibly grateful for the family that surrounds us.
When you're young, time feels endless. Then one day you realise that some of the people you love most won't always be here.
And suddenly the ordinary moments become precious.
So if there is anything I want to protect right now, it's that. Time together. The three of us.
(And the rest of the family, of course.)
Because one day you'll understand what I am only just beginning to understand now.
The greatest inheritance isn't money. It isn't success. It isn't status.
It's love that gets passed from one generation to the next.