Happy 1st Birthday Jordy! We Made It!

Dear Jordy,

Happy Birthday to you, our wonderful not-so-little man. I'm on one hand amazed and excited, and on the other ever-so-slightly wistful, that we're all of us here, at this milestone in your life.

Looking at the modest little movie* Daddy and I made to honour this day, the photos and videos do capture some of the tiny, miraculous moments that have come to pass this first year of your being. But what they don't capture is how so subtly, our lives have acquired that much more resonance. As if you've come along and made what was once a perfectly adequate flower bed into a Van Gogh sunflower field. Yes, all the mad swirls of paint included!

Before you came along, I wondered how we would fare as parents, or more precisely, how I would fare as a mum. Your dad I knew, was MEANT to be a dad. If anyone was more suited to dadhood, well, I just hadn't met or heard of them I guess. But your ol' mum here? Well, that's a different matter, heh.

Where your dad has the patience and forebearance of a saint (nay, an aunty out to redeem her coupons: think here of an aunty who will wait serenely for hours to redeem a $2 item with 20 coupons and you get where I am coming from), your mum is err, let's just say a little more hot-headed and temperamental. I am quick to anger but quick to forgive!

Well, I was more than slightly worried about how I'd deal with things when you fussed or cried, and true enough, the first couple of weeks of your life did test me (though now in hindsight, as far as babies go, we pretty much struck jackpot! You never had colic, fussed occassionally in the evenings the first few weeks of your life, and first slept through at three months... but I didn't know then what I know now!). And your dad and I, well we worked as a team, and that team then grew to include you.

Well, if one thing I have learnt from your first year, is that, you, Jordy the Lordy of the House, have taught me how to be a mum; and I think you were a pretty good teacher at that. You taught me that one bad night does not a bad week make, that a child's laugh can heal most anything, that there is magic in sitting at a bus stop and looking at traffic go by, that success is family life writ large, and most importantly, that spaghetti sauce is just spaghetti sauce AND WILL WASH OUT OF MY HAIR SO GET OVER IT.

You, my friend, have taught me to let go of certain things and value what is important. And for that, I am ever grateful.

Well, there is still cake to be had and toys to be played with on this day, so I will end off this special birthday missive with a little blessing that your gong gong sent to the family to commemmorate your birth a year ago.

May each word hold true in your life.

Love,
Your Mum xxoo

Irish Blessing

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds,
Nor a life on a bed of roses,
Not that you might never need regret,
Nor that you should never feel pain.

No, that is not my wish for you.

My wish for you is:
That you might be brave in times of trial,
When others lay crosses upon your shoulders,
When mountains must be climbed,
And chasms are to be crossed;
When hope scarce can shine through.

That every gift God gave you might grow along with you,
And let you give the gift of joy to all that care for you.

That you may always have a friend who is worthy of the name,
Whom you can trust, and who helps in times of sadness.
Who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.

One more wish I have for you.
That in every hour of joy and pain you feel God close to you.
This is my hope for you now and forever.
This is my wish for you and all who care for you.

* This is our first attempt at a video using Windows Movie Maker. Very simple to use, and we're kinda proud of the product. Enjoy!