Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen...a beautiful Irish balad.

I have followed many of you blippers out there, pregnant, just about to give birth, to share your world with another. Well, yesterday, we had our first born. We named him Thomas. seems like only yesterday.

Tonight, at the age of 25 and a chef, he is running his Mentor's Michelin Rosette restaurant in West London and played host to his youngest brother Aonghus (Gussy to family and Gus to friends) who turned sixteen today. (He was only born yesterday too, as were his other brother and sister, 17 and 24 respectively.)

Point is, as I observed my three boys at the table (Tom joined us from the kitchen when he had a slack 2 minutes), I first could not believe our youngest, our baby, had turned 16.

It was only yesterday when he first saw the love light in my eyes!

Then Joe, nearly 18 and Tom, a man making his way in the world, all born just yesterday. My baby girl, flitting around the world with her Steven, sampling all the wonders of the southern hemisphere. Time flies. It must mean I am getting old. Oh to re-capture the joy of childbirth, that smell of a newborn.

Sitting quietly, observing the interaction, the laughter, the familiarity, our comfort zone, I realise I now had the answer to a question I recall had knawed at me on four drawn-out occasions over the years. I had often sat with a babe in arms, staring at the wonder of the human being I had been given charge of for but a few short years and wondered what they would be like as a person. I would wish my life away to imagine or get a glimpse of that dependant creature in years to come, a glimpse of what it would be like to interact with them as an adult. How would they turn out?

Here I am, all my yesterdays are now today. Our baby boy is now sixteen. Our baby is nearly a man. Smart, aware, confident, opinionated, loving, generous, willful....(OK, I'm only going to give you his good bits...it's his birthday after all!) and tomorrow, he will leave us, just as the eldest 2 have.

So to all of you blippers out there yearning for your young ones to move on to the next stage (which may even be their birth), take it from an oldie who can now only look forward to grandchildren in this same vein....enjoy today. It will very soon become your tomorrow.

I took over 200 photos in the restaurant tonight, most of them in very low light conditions. There were nonetheless some great shots in amongst them. The one I chose was unfortunately not the best technically, but I care not, for it was undoubtedly the best shot. My B - more and more beautiful by the moment - and our baby boy on his birthday. Happy Birthday Aonghus. xx MTLI

PS - Apologies for having to soften out the noise!