Ah, I'm blushing! Thanks very much for your kind thoughts. I even got a trophy, so - like a lot of us sometimes, I guess - I feel a bit of a fraud!
It was only 500 words!!!Sorry, I'm only seeing this thread now as Mrs AJ launched baby number four on the 9th December and I've been in that "new baby in the house" fugue for the last four weeks.
It did give me a good idea for a short, however - two prospective fathers waiting outside maternity, for one the baby represents a sort of condemnation, for the other a chance of redemption. Ironic really, as I didn't actually see a single other baby/mother/father for the SIX HOURS in the hospital from arrival to departure that it took Mrs AJ to do the business and go home (heart like a lion).
Here's wishing all of us a 2012 in which we're happy with EVERYTHING we write. That would be better than any award!!
My story, 'An Encounter' - as improved by YWOers - is available in this anthology:
Speech Bubble Magazine Best Of Issues 1, 2 & 3 ebook