It’s the 26th of February and
it’s the first day of seconds for H. Every day last year was a day of firsts
but today is the first time he will have lived through a whole day on the
calendar for the second time. He was born just before midnight on the 25th
of February last year. That makes this day another one to mark as just as
special as his first birthday yesterday.
On the weekend a number of family and
friends gathered to have a bit of a party for H’s first birthday. The
invitation we sent out was quite explicit in that it said the party wasn’t
about him – it was more about the fact that his Mum and Dad had survived the
first year.
I feel quite strongly that this is what
first birthdays are all about. They are a celebration of the family having made
it through. My initial experience of this came a few years ago when I attended
my first ‘first birthday party’. I was a single bloke and was thinking that
this was going to be a quick hi to the parents, laugh at the kids playing
cutely and get out of there quickly. It wasn’t and I had to really hold myself
back on the constant flow of beers that were being thrown my way so that I
could drive home!
The first birthday is, to me, a celebration
of the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” At the party
there were numerous people who had contributed to H’s growth and development in
so many little ways during his first year. There were people who had given us
support, guidance and advice when things were going a little pear shaped standing
in the room, people who arrived with croissants and coffee at our door when H
was just weeks old, people who have come in to babysit him so that his parents
could have time out to ourselves and people who had just said the right thing
at the right time when we needed it. They were all there to share in the
day. However, we realise there are also
so many others who could not make it because of distance or other commitments
and I know that they too will get the chance to share more time with H as he
grows.
To everyone who has helped in H’s first
year I want to say a massive thank you. You have been great support to us in
raising our son and it’s because of you every day raising H is as special as
his birthday - if somewhat slightly mad.
No comments:
Post a Comment