Our son, Thomas Rose Shaw McMahon, came to us late on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Madeline and baby are our heroes; they’re on the mend, surrounded by gentle, kind, and exponential love. Our family is so grateful and lucky to be joined by this little person.
Sam, our (nearly) two-year-old, is getting the hang of being an older brother. He cautiously and kindly drops his Hot Wheels and Paw Patrol figures on Thomas’s chest whenever the moment calls for it.
Thomas’s big sisters, Ella and Jane, and his brothers, Hawk and Levon, have all the love in the world for him.
For those keeping track at home, Madeline and I have six kids between the two of us. I had my girls in my previous relationship. Mad had her two boys in her previous relationship. And together, we’ve brought Sam and Thomas to the world. We’re quite a sight walking through an airport.
I’m Back Early In 2024
This substack will return to form early in the new year. Thanks for sticking with me and being patient while we all adjust to life with Thomas in the mix.
Here are a few things to expect early in the new year:
I’m going to start sharing pages of the memoir I’m writing. I’m struck by how easy this writing has been, and while I’m still not convinced it’s my time to write this book, I’m trusting the people around me who have said I have to write it. It is a frightening and liberating experience.
I have written a dozen short stories for the Life According to Clarence Two Toes collection. I’m going to roll one out per month in 2024. I have edited the first few, you’ll see one in your inbox on New Years Day.
The daily podcast returns. It’ll be sent in a single post on Saturday’s. If you want them as they drop, add the RSS feed to your favourite podcast app and never miss and episode. Alternatively, you can use the Substack app and find the podcast in your audio tab of the app.
My video podcast will debut here in this space. It’ll be available on Youtube first, I’m still working out the publishing architecture to streamline the publishing workload, but, watch for it here.
I loved publishing in this space in 2023. Thank you all for being here. I have some exciting projects to share here in 2024, I’ve built some solid partnerships for this coming year, and I can’t wait to share more words with you on this platform.
Until soon.
RM
Happy New Year of the Thomas!
Congratulations on your expanding family!