It’s taken a while, but I’m (we’re) slowly closing in on completing the EFL sticker book.
My son has gone from knowing very little about any football to now knowing which division Burton Albion are in, and that their nickname is The Brewers.
It’s been an enjoyable endeavour and a welcome distraction, although it’s also felt like having a second job at times.
Keeping on top of my swaps has demanded a level of organisation that just isn’t in me. I was born to do many things, but use Excel spreadsheets was not one of them. I’m a creative. It kills my vibe.
Anyway, if (or when) this gets completed, it’s going on my CV. A brilliant exhibition of organisation and communication skills — not forgetting some negotiating skills too.
Ambition, determination, persistence… they’re the sorts of words that get LinkedIn folk all excited.
I’m not sure my son will truly understand the lengths to which I’ve sought some of those swaps. Not only did it force me into a spreadsheet, it also threw me onto Facebook for the first time in nearly a decade.
I bought the sticker book on a whim in the Grimsby Town club shop back in November, and then we found it almost impossible to buy sticker packs because no shop or supermarket had them in stock.
Luckily, Father Christmas worked his magic and found some tucked down the back of a magazine rack in Tesco Roundhay, so that greased the wheels — as did the dozens of free sticker packs I was swiping off tables in the Bobby Moore suite at Wembley before the League One play-off final kicked off.
That was a nice and unexpected bonus in the sticker book journey.