So my wife, with a permanent back condition amplifying stab of every contraction and reverberating it through spine with no momentary relief between contractions, felt every glorious minute – 487 in all – of unplanned "natural" childbirth. Did I mention that she is my hero? The third lesson is, when best-laid plans go astray, improvise (which might explain throwing up – I have reason to believe it was not planned, either).

My wife's trauma was nothing compared to what Little Sister overcame. Her shoulders got stuck, pinching umbilical cord and cutting oxygen supply from her not-quite-yet-born brain. To do equivalent, you would have to press your shoulder up into your nose, while a bulldozer on steroids pushes you in a river of blood through your mailbox. (Don't try this at home, folks.)

Thanks to Quick Thinking Doctor, focused team of nurses, and a well-sharpened pair of scissors, Little Sister is enjoying great suction at all-night milk bar with no more damage than a limp arm. (That's "brachial plexus injury" in medicalese.) The arm will hopefully recover. Even if it doesn't, we know what alternative would have been ... and we do not look good in black. Lesson number four is to appreciate what you have rather than worry about what you don't.

The Maternity Ward offers far too many lessons to share with you now. My fatigue is overtaking me. I feel like a wad of gum squished on asphalt, baked in sun, and stuck on a motorcycle tire burning rubber on a gravel trail. Ha! Bet you never felt like that in New York, New York.

Online dating is also honest. O.K., there are people who place an ad without taking it seriously, and some might even try to scam you, but that's not different from real world. If you take right precautions and use your brains, you will only meet men or women who don't hide their intentions. On net you do not have to say 'Can I buy you drink', then wait for hours, weeks, sometimes months - or even years - to find out that your 'partner' liked drink more than you or already had someone else. No, on net world is simple and clear. By just putting an ad, people say: 'I want love'. Now, that's an opening sentence!

When starting points are so obvious, it's also much easier to speak about issues that really matter. What do you expect from life? What kind of relationship would you prefer? Do you want children? Just a few questions you will never ask a boy or girl in a crowded bar or noisy discotheque, while being watched by your and his or her friends. But when you write an email you CAN ask it, and you don't have to wait for right moment. If you don't limit your correspondence to superficial talk, but achieve real indepth communication, you save a lot of time. So invest in your writing skills and be honest, and your relationship will benefit from it for years.

The great thing about email is it's inbuilt paradox. It can be very personal and intimate, but still it's anonymous, because you use a 'third party', your computer, to express your thoughts and feelings. With no direct listener you can come to point. And great thing is: most people are easily touched by a personal letter. A letter also gives them time to react, while a live conversation requires immediate answer, which can be an obstacle when you are overwhelmed by emotion.

There are people who regard online dating as unnatural. Well, then tell me what IS natural? There was a time when bars and disco's were just as new as Internet. There are countries where bars and disco's do not exist, even in 21st century. And what is natural about joining a singles club and go out bowling with people who are only rating each other's looks?

I may be romantic, but I think man or woman of your dreams might well be living somewhere else, on a place where you haven't looked yet. It can be your neighbouring city, or an almost deserted island in Pacific. But thanks to your computer you can find him. Or find her. Go for it.