Today is BB's 5th birthday. I'm not one to be sentimental, I normally leave that side of things to Domestic Management. Today though, my mind has been cast back to that day 5 years ago sitting in what seemed like an ancient replica of a 1950's operating theatre, for which both Mrs W and I were ill prepared for.
We were pretty confident that all would be well. We (she) did all the right things through the pregnancy. I forced her to eat her greens. She didn't drink - not a drop, and she was active all the way through. It seemed to work too, we later had a chunky, but healthy boy who wasn't a kick in the backside off 9lbs. What we didn't even think once about, was BB coming out the sunroof.
After that long (so very long ) labour, after which the lazy mare could actually be arsed to give birth naturally, we got split up for what seemed like an eternity as she was prepared for the op. I remember being stuck in horribly bare locker room, with oversized cast iron radiators and pipes run over the walls. It was after 4 in the morning, and we'd been there for about 22 hrs. I was pooped, I kept dropping off as I waited on my own, then waking up with a start, thinking, that they would start without me. Eventually though, they came and got me.
That would prove to be the least gory child birth I'd ever witness. Other than catching MPLST's vomit, and being just a tiny bit concerned when they rattled (the lovely midwife had warned us there would be 3 sharp "tugs" as she put it") BB out of there, I saw my boy being carried upside down across the theatre by the ankle to the scales.
In those 5 years, we've squeezed in another couple of much more gruesome childbirth experiences. I'll leave those for another day... What we do have is a boy we can be proud of, he's not perfect, in fact, at times, he is a complete and utter little so and so. When he's good, which is most of the time, he is gentle, kind and very forgiving. He can't have got that from me. When he's not so good, he's stubborn, feisty and unreasonable in the extreme - but I guess he's allowed, he is only 5 for goodness sake. Incidentally, I got those traits from my mother, so it's all her fault.....
I guess we can be proud of what we've managed in those 5 years too. I read this article last night
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14899148 called Children Need Time Not Stuff. It pretty much fits in with our philosophy. We're far from perfect, if I'm honest, they do have a lot of stuff too. But what they have all had, is either mum or dad, nearly all of the time. That's quite a mind shift from where we were 5 and a half years ago, when I can remember trawling through childminder reports, and visiting nurseries. I think it's the single best decision we have ever made (apart from pro creation in the first place ;-)
I've missed BB's birthday today because I am at work. Would you believe that it's the only day in a 4 year cycle where we actually plan to test everything, and I mean everything (even the batteries to the telecoms) trip on demand. The result, is that I managed to only speak to BB for about 30 secs this morning, but I did hear the excitement in his voice. Work is generally not that bad a place to be, but today has been slow.....despite being one of the busiest days I'm meant to have here.
Happy Birthday Son. I wish I was home so we could ride our bikes together today. x
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