Happy Day

Our son turned one recently. Oh, happy day! He is our one-and-only child and we feel so lucky to have him around. His name should be joy because that is what he is.

We had a small birthday party for him complete with party hats, chocolate cupcakes and a happy birthday sign. Both sets of grandparents were there, along with aunties, friends who were pivotal in his arrival, and of course, his little buddy Cooper.

While I was pregnant, people told me a lot about babies. How to burp them, feed them, give birth to them. But no one ever told me just how much love I would feel for him. No one could. Words cannot really describe what it has been like to watch him grow. Words cannot really contain that feeling.

It seemed like one day he was laying on his back discovering his toes, and the next day he was crawling for the first time. His first word was banana. The first animal he imitated was a crow – CAW, CAW! His first toy was Sophie le Giraffe. And he learned to clap and kiss on the same day, then welcomed his dad home from Beirut with these new and fabulous skills.

Since his birthday, I have been thinking about what I would want to tell him or write down for him about the past year. Do I have advice for him? Is there something I would like him to know? And while I was thinking about this, I came across a short video by Katherine Center that says a lot of what I think I would like to say to my sweet boy. At least to start.

I have watched you sleep.  I’ve kissed you a million times.  And I know something that you don’t, yet: You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day. And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.

This week, the celebration of our baby’s very first birthday is one nice thing.

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