My ‘Puter

When I was expecting my first baby, my husband’s two young nieces came to Ireland for a week’s holiday, in anticipation of seeing their new little cousin. I was already one week overdue when the girls arrived so the excitement was mighty. As luck would have it, nothing stirred all week and the two little girls went home disappointed. At 42 weeks plus 2 days, I was admitted to the maternity hospital to be induced the following day. Shortly after midnight, I went into labour spontaneously and as the sun came up on a beautiful morning in June, our son, Robin arrived into the world.

Robin was an exhausting baby. The image of having a peaceful sleeping baby, very quickly dissipated. He would sleep for very short periods of time and then be awake and alert for hours. Life it seemed, was too exciting to waste time sleeping. Robin wanted to see the world. Our early days of parenthood are blurred from lack of sleep. We took it in turns throughout the night to walk the floorboards with babe in arms to allow one another some sleep. By day, I would walk for hours pushing the buggy around our locality in an effort to get Robin to sleep. I would arrive home with him sleeping peacefully but as soon as I put the key in the door, his eyes would spring open again and I would almost weep from exhaustion. Things improved when Robin became mobile enough to reach for toys to keep himself entertained. By nine months, he was already practising his mountaineering skills by scaling the side of his cot and falling onto the floor in the process. There was no stopping him. The breakthrough came at almost two years old, when we went to stay with friends who had two children. Their older child had a Tomy toy computer exactly like the one above and Robin was completely captivated by it. We bought him one for his second birthday and ‘My ‘Puter’ as it became known, was a lifeline. He still didn’t sleep much but he was happy in his own little imaginary world as long as he had his ‘Puter for company. Little did we know then what lay ahead in terms of Robin and his computer.

Robin went through school with one purpose in mind. To spend as much time as possible learning more about computer technology and design. And he didn’t waste any time either. All the promises we’d been given by the experts that he’d sleep once he became a teenager, never materialised. He of course, had a ‘real’ computer in his bedroom at this stage and spent every available hour surfing the net. Before long, he began to win awards for his design ability and he’s gone from strength to strength ever since. His powers of innovation, design and enthusiasm know no bounds. While in college studying for a degree in Digital Media Engineering, he launched his blog ByteSurgery which charts his success story to date. Robin’s other big interest in life, is outdoor adventure sports so when he’s not in front of a computer screen, he can be found planning and executing his next expedition. His blog Team Geared Up is testament to this. He is presently based in Chicago putting the final touches to a new niche technology service he’s designed, called ‘Decisions for Heroes’. He plans to take the world of emergency services by storm with a brand new concept based around decision-making. The next chapter of his life is about to begin.

Today is Robin’s 25th birthday. He’s packed more into that quarter century than most people could hope to achieve in a lifetime. All those sleepless nights have more than paid-off. HAPPY BIRTHDAY old fella! We’re hugely proud of you. You were well worth the wait, all those years ago!