Wow, twenty-four years ago he was a silent little bundle brought back from the maternity ward to our freezing house in Birmingham. Wonderful and utterly terrifying . . . where was the manual? what did this mean, or that mean. Should I feed on demand? Should he sleep in our bed? etc, etc...
A few months on and it was all normal - ish. Black and white leopard car seat in the old Saab, little pots of whizzed up food portions everywhere, visits from family and friends, walks around the reservoir; even a trip to our favourite Tandoori house where Ezra experienced his first 'Bombay duck'.
All these years on and we are lucky that he is living with us for this year. We do click, no arguments really, shared sense of humour, love of walks, music, art and road trips! These have been a little curtailed due to Covid and work on the house but for his birthday I booked a B and B on the Vendee coast. Cheap and cheerful, and although the outside looked like a condo from a forgotten Russian town, the view was something you could just gawp at for hours. Used to the Mediterranean coast as we are the Atlantic is a powerful sea full of constant movement, the ubiquitous wave noise something lulling and just a tiny bit eerie in January.
We were budget-sensible, only ate out once on a sunny terrace in Les Sables d'Olonne, and the rest of the time ate picnics and made food in the flat. I slept in a bunk bed and Ezra (longer than me) had the raisable bed. Great sleeps brought on by long, long walks and the wave's nighttime shushing. Wonderful memories and the perfect slightly in advance present. He's visiting art school friends in Bordeaux today after a dog walk and presents this morning. Happy Birthday our creative lad.
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