It is four weeks since the birth of our second daughter, so we are still firmly in the broken sleep zone although the pattern is getting easier. And our twenty two month old is growing up fast, quite the chatter box and delighted by her little sister, but still getting used to the idea that there is someone else who is sometimes a priority.
Parenthood is amazing and certainly a challenge. Children absorb everything around them and learn so fast. It is an extraordinary privilege and responsibility to have such an impact on the little people who are our next generations, as well as to learn from them what life is all about.
All parents want the best for the children. And we as a society want our children to be able to follow their dreams and make the best possible contribution to our endeavours.
That is why it is so important to give the next generation the things that give them the best chance in life: a happy and stimulating environment growing up, a great education and great skills.
Government can't do everything. Parenting itself is a crucial an indispensable part of making our youngsters who they are and what they can achieve.
But government does have a role, in enabling people to get help if they need it, enabling people to have the ladders and tools in their own lives to be able to provide, and enabling and guiding schools, colleges and universities to build their human capital and to maintain and improve standards, so that their students' potential is obvious and useful to the wider world when they go out into it.
Government also has a duty to maintain the public finances in such a way that future generations are not burdened unfairly by debt incurred by previous ones. It is easy to overlook this but the principle is as fundamental as it is simple, and sometimes our nation's short term political view can mitigate against it: if we spend too much on ourselves, if we are too selfish, our children will have to pick up the tab.
At a national level this can be very serious. Look for example at what can happen if there isn't the money to provide adequate defence. Rivals might take advantage, one way or another, and make the world our next generations have to live in less safe.
Environmental challenges will not stop either, with the growth in global population pressure increasing from generation to generation. I am a believer in the ingenuity of our human race to find solutions, but that balance of collective mind and strong skill set which we put in place for our children today are what will allow them to rise to future challenges.
We have some great local schools and facilities for the education of our next generations in Somerset, but I would like us to be even more ambitious.
I would like to see a major new university and further education institution in Somerset, and for the Yeovil constituency to provide a leading role in providing one or more campuses. I would like to see Yeovil College and Yeovil employers participate in this, and for young people growing up in our area to have access to even more good and outstanding school places and then have ideal places to go on to for outstanding further and vocational education, right here in Somerset.
There is immense potential in our people, our wonderful location and environment, and the focus that the Government has on unleashing that potential in the South West gives us a tremendous opportunity to think big and think "outside the box" about what we can do together.
As proposals come forward and during this back to school season I hope people will think positively and contribute their ambitious ideas about how we can make our area and the future for people in it the best it can be.