Celebrating 19 years of parenting

Today we're celebrating 19 years of being parents. 

Might sound a bit weird to you, but here's my reasoning. The other day I was feeling a bit sad that this is the first birthday that we won't be with our eldest son. So, I decided instead to have our own little celebration: that of becoming parents and surviving this long. It's not an insignificant achievement and worthy of a cake! We won't go as far as having candles, party food, or presents, just a simple cake.

Even if my boys think it is a little odd (only guessing, it hasn't been said), no one is about to refuse cake—special birthday-cake recipe, no less.

A child's birthday: time to reflect and look ahead . . . and eat cake.

Today my middle son turns nine. We're back to a nice set of numbers for ages for the next six months: 6, 9 and 12! Nice and easy to remember.

It is probably only mothers that think about what a birthday started out as – a birth! This particular birth took place in a Japanese hospital. My stay in the hospital lasted about 20 days and qualified as a full-on immersion experience. I got to experience traditional Japanese pillows (filled with beans), Japanese food (including tentacles), compulsory IV drips, post-birth Japanese underwear (don't ask), and a Caesarean section without adequate pain medication following it. I discovered that kimonos don't fit all that well over a pregnant tummy. The compulsory pyjamas were wrap-around style. Even the L size didn't fit me all that well during my just-in-case 10 inpatient days before he was born (I had a mild blood condition they were watching). It just made it round my girth, but was too long and gaped at the cross-over.

And there are many more things I could tell you, even nine years later, but I won't bore you.

There were many challenging things about those days, so many that I prayed fervently that God would allow us to have our third child in Australia, a prayer he graciously answered during our home assignment 2 1/2 years later.

But on a day like today it is better to focus on the young man who is growing up under my care. His early years were fraught with much frustration and clashing of heads. As we understand him more and as he grows and learns self-control, we're getting along better much of the time. This is very satisfying. I'm looking forward to seeing this determined, intelligent young man as he discovers himself more and more and finds out what God is preparing him for.


But for today, we're enjoying him exploring his presents and look forward to a family party this evening, with lots of goodies, and a nice cake.

Blinky Bill arrives at his destination

Here's something I mentioned starting late last year:

If you don't recognise this cute little fellow it is because you aren't familiar with Australian children's literature. This is Blinky Bill. Actually he is pretty cheeky, rather than cute! I stitched this for my new nephew, born in January. It probably took longer than I expected because back in mid-March the concentration required for such a detailed project was in short supply. And don't be fooled by his cuteness – he was a tricky project indeed!

Thankfully he survived the aeroplane trip back to Australia and his new owners are enjoying him.

Caesareans

My sister-in-law had her first baby on Friday. A bonny baby boy called Wylye, named after an English town, his father's home town, I think. The birth was a caesarean or C-section as Americans say. I've had three of these. Someone laughed at me the other day when I said that caesars are fine if you have good pain medication. And it is absolutely true. My second son was born in Japan and they gave me very poor pain medication. My recovery was slow and, yes, painful. We spent 10 days in hospital too (standard in Japan after Caesar). My third son was born in Australia (after #2 son, I wasn't keen to do it again in Japan). I quickly became my doctor's favourite patient when I thanked him for the great pain medication every time I saw him. Guess what - my recovery was fast and the pain was not unbearable, even though it was my third! I think the 'humble' pain killer is taken for granted in Western society. We demand pain free lives and complain more readily that necessary. In reality it is a luxury, and one only recently enjoyed by a minority of the world's population. So I stand by my statement. Caesareans, if you have to have one, are fine and not to be dreaded, as some seem to think. Especially if you live in a society which values good pain management. My main advice would be to avoid getting a cold with a cough soon after your prescription medication runs out. THAT really hurts.