celebrations!
Nine.
I don’t know what you would be like today.
Nine years old,
scuffed up knees and shoes, perhaps.
A crooked smile with many missing teeth
and a sparkle in your eyes that speaks of mischief and love all mingled into the deep blue of them.
I don’t know.
I’m just guessing.
Maybe your hair would be light still,
or perhaps it would be darkening to the same colour as your Dad’s
and you might be tall
or maybe not.
You would be determined.
When I imagine you into being I understand that would be a part of your character.
All I know is that tiny newborn boy who fought every day for his life
and then that sweet baby boy
whose life light I watched snuff out
but that doesn’t stop me wondering who you would be today on your birthday.
I’m celebrating you.
I’m thinking of you -
even as the world keeps on turning on its axis year in and year out -
even when everyone else forgets.
I’ll remember the gifts you gave me,
hang onto each memory of the day you came into my life
and try not to miss you too much -
just for today
because today is a good day.
Those days of darkness will come this week
but for today I will eat cake and celebrate
for the boy who would be nine.
Pluck – alternate title “and we were all very hoppy”.
This time last year the girl missed her Easter Hat Parade and I missed Noah.
Brilliantly, through the miracle of technology,
the parade was streamed into Ivy’s hospital room
and the Starlight Captains held a private parade for her and her inmates
but this year
the doctors pulled out all the stops and by the grace of half an hour we made it
and the pair were collectively happy.
This photo was taken a few days ago,
on the completion of the Easter hats -
a just in case photo -
you know,
just in case.
This photo was taken this afternoon.
After being Nil By Mouth, having a general anaesthetic, her immunoglobulin infusion,
and a pesky impacted tooth pulled
the girl recovered just enough to make the march (swollen face and all)
and then collapsed in exhausted happiness.
The boy (although becoming quite adept at avoiding my camera) was very glad to see us there.
He was quietly happy too
and so we celebrated the great second grade Easter Hat Parade together.
I think the gentle anaesthetist said it best -
“if only we all had as much pluck as Ivy, then the world would be an amazing place”.
Indeed,
ours was definitely amazing today.
Hoping you all have a happy Easter -
however you celebrate this time.
because, you only reach one metre once.
Last year, just after her birthday,
the endocrinologist told Ivy that in shoes she was 100cm
but the girl was unimpressed.
She came home, stomped around for a while and then said;
‘If it’s in shoes, it doesn’t count’.
Indeed, when she saw the paed and he measured her up as 99.6 cm
she wasn’t surprised
or disappointed.
I guess she was right.
Unless it was a true hundred it meant very little to her
but
on Friday
just before we escaped into a weekend of leave from the hospital
our favourite boy-nurse measured her up again
where she obtained the ‘officially official shoeless‘ height off 100.5cm.
Cheers and high fives aside
the girl was very pleased with herself
and as promised we partied;
with balloons and bubbles
and a metre of cake
because that’s a lot of growth in a year
and because that hundred centimetres was a long time coming
and because some things should be celebrated
and
well,
that’s as good an excuse as any to have cake.
365 little blessings.
This is the post where I am supposed to wax lyrical about all of my New Year’s resolutions
but I have none to tell you about.
I stopped making them a long time ago.
I stopped wishing for different things from the year that was
or better things.
I don’t ask for better health
or wealth
or good luck.
Instead, I wish for simple things,
like finding something good in each day
and spending time with the people I love the most in this world,
which is my wish for all of you too.
I would like to take this opportunity as well
to thank you for reading,
for commenting
for messaging
and emailing.
Thank you for connecting with me,
supporting me
and for for walking with us on our journey.
Here’s to 2013 and 365 days of simple blessings.
