Despite the forbiddance of attachment in the Jedi Order, it’s inevitable that masters will develop some affection for their Padawans. For apprentices, often plucked from their parents at tender ages, their masters become parental figures by proxy. More than that, they are role models, imparting life lessons, the way of the force and the art of the lightsaber.

As a new parent, I’ve been thrust into a similar position, serving as a role model for my young daughter. As she was, at least in part, unplanned, being a role model is something I felt woefully unprepared for. And yet it has come naturally to me. I feel like a better, more complete version of myself. It’s as if some vital missing part has finally fallen in to place and now I’m the me I was always supposed to be.

I’m full of faults, not least a short temper and little in the way of patience, meaning if I was ever a Jedi doubtless I would have fallen a thousand times over. But holding my darling newborn in my arms just dissolves away any anger, and in its place is love.

Now the notion of being a role model to this little person, helping to shape their tastes and ideals, is something I look forward to and cherish. By helping to make Lorelei the best person she can be, I’m in turn becoming a better one myself.