Brum brum

Thirteen years ago, when he was 4, Joel pulled a stamp off an envelope and drew a car in the space it left. He was already getting quite good at drawing but this was so small and so carefully drawn that I made sure to write his age and the date next to it so I could look at it in years to come. (I cut the age and date out and stuck them on the back)

I'm really rubbish at keeping kids' stuff (or at least remembering where anything is or putting special things together), but I kept this safe and put it in a tiny picture frame. It's really special to me and I love it.

Joel has always been obsessed with wheels. He could sit in a corner on the floor, leaning on one arm watching the wheels of cars and trains go back and forth for hours when other kids were running around screaming. I secretly worried that I'd done something wrong and he was supposed to be more outgoing and less wheel-obsessed.
But I didn't need to worry. He turned out just fine. More than fine. He's fab and mellow and just not one of life's screaming running around people. I never needed to have compared him with other children, I just needed to remember I loved him and was proud of him because I did and I do; I was and I am.

Anyway... This afternoon Joel had his first driving test. I say first because I took 5 goes to pass and was a bag of nerves every time. But he passed first time!
We were ready waiting for him when he got back, with cards that we would hide if he said he failed and with a giant chocolate cup cake - which would serve as either a celebration cake or a commiserations cake. He was totally cool. I don't know where he gets it from!

I'm not big on cars. I don't bother driving these days because I don't like it. But Joel does like cars and he also doesn't like the length of time the rather sparse public buses take to get anywhere round here, so I understand why this is a big thing to him.

The biggest thing for me today is getting my head round the fact that my little boy -who drew this lovely picture what seems like only a couple of years ago - is now old enough to have his own life and get around on his own.

Well done, Joel!