The Gallery. A man of many talents....

Men*.

I'm surrounded by them. Here they are, throwing sticks into a Connecticut stream.

And, as someone who grew up as one of two sisters, I'm often unfamiliar with their wants and needs. It's been a steep learning curve; before having two boys I knew nothing about Thomas the Tank Engine, Lego or model railways. As they grow up they'll find I'm ignorant of Asterix, Tintin, cricket, most football and Formula One. I have never watched Top Gear, nor do ever intend to. I'm also about the least practical mother on earth. Need someone to put up new book shelves, find out why the cable box on the TV isn't working, or fix a broken scooter? Mummy's not your woman.

So it's lucky that they have a father that is superbly practical; a man of many talents. The Doctor can assemble an Iron Man Lego car in under ten minutes; he constructs intricate marble runs and impressive feats of engineering on the Thomas track. He spent Sunday afternoon setting up their new trampoline pretty well by himself with only a little help from me (the instructions said it would take three able-bodied adults). He can fix computers, unblock sinks and cooks far better than I ever will. I called him The Doctor here because of his medical career, but really, he does have an uncanny ability to swoop in and save the day like Doctor Who (albeit with a real rather than sonic screwdriver).

We've been married for 12 years as of last weekend, and not a day goes by when I don't wonder how I would cope without him.

Happy anniversary, darling.

*This post is for The Gallery: subject, Men. Head over there and check out some of the other great entries this week. Or alternatively you can just ogle lots of blokes......