Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The 11th and 12th of November

Having just read this post, I must pull myself together to write of happier things. The tears have poured onto the key board so I may be cut off at any minute as the whole computer fizzles into non-existence.


Fourteen years ago this very night, Mr Stressy and I were a happily married couple. He was not stressy and indeed had endless patience with his scatty wife.

Then during the early hours of the morning life changed forever. A friend rushed us down the road to University College Hospital, London. Well, I say 'rushed' but we were in fact stuck behind Kings Troop on horse back off to rehearse for the following days Cenotaph parade. So we crawled to hospital. I knew exactly where we had to go on arrival. Third floor. But as ever, my sense of direction had gone awry. So we then walked down 2 flights of stairs to the correct floor.

I can look back on it all now and smile. The TENs machine (still partly attached to my back) fell into the toilet, giving me electric shocks. Nine (yes, I counted them) student doctors staring up at me from the bottom of my bed urging me to push. The student doctor asking of the nurse 'um do you know where this bit goes?' whilst trying to stitch me up. The lasagne, mashed potatoes and tinned tomatoes brought in for me to eat whilst nurses were doing all sorts of unmentionable things...

Child birth. Yeuk.

But hey, who cares? I had this amazing little creature. This beautiful bundle of small child. Perfectly formed. Mine, all mine. (OK partly Mr Stressy's too). No longer were we a happily married couple, we were a happy family!


Our first born. Happy, noisy, loud, adventurous, athletic, gorgeous - and fourteen years old. Did I miss something? Where have those years gone to?

Happy Birthday Josh. You have been worth every single twinge of pain, every tear of frustration and annoyance. You drive me to distraction most days, but I wouldn't change you for the world!

7 comments:

trash said...

Happy Birthday Josh. May you never know that sensation of nine student doctors studying your 'umentionables' cluelessly ;-)

Mama said...

Oh Joshie - Happy birthday dear boy!
May this new year bring you Mother many, many reasons to cry!! Well, you know, the good kind of tears...

ps: Come visit your
Auntie WMK soon : )

Locket Pocket said...

Happy 14th Birthday Josh! Absolutely fantastic photograph!!!!

Lucy x

. said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!

Childbirth really does render you devoid of all modesty doesn't it. I mean, what other time would we let strangers stare at our down-belows without batting an eyelid.

xMx

Heart in the country said...

Very well said - they can drive us mad, but we can't imagine being without them.

Happy birthday Josh hope you have a good one!

picperfic said...

where does the time go indeed!? Happy birthday Josh!

Mrs Moog said...

Happy Birthday Josh!! Wonderful photo and I hope you had the best birthday :-)

Mmm...childbirth...if men had to do it the human race would have become extinct by now...or they'd have found a way of making us have the babies!!
I had the delightful experience of being used as stitching up practice for a trainee midwife. Let's just say the birth was painless by comparison!!

xxx