Alder's Tone

Never again. Never ever again.

Some folk are really natural hosts, and we don't fit into that category. So when we had a house more full than it's ever been before it's difficult to keep track of where everyone is, how full the glasses are (even with open invitations to the beer fridge), we're just not cut out for it. Which I guess is why I found my space and hung onto it. The fact it was in front of the grill and I had an endless supply of food and beer coming helped.

I only saw my boy a couple of times, so it looks like my two-step plan for the day was exactly how it happened. Fantastic!!

The lad did really well too, I never heard any reports of him crying, even when he missed a meal (sort of deliberate), went for a nap, went to bed to leave the die-hards going.

The last year has been something special, and I'm so pleased so many made it down (or up) to help celebrate the day with us. More importantly those who shared the day with the boy, we were just there to supply food and drink, and we knew it!

Since Saturday I've been looking back at 52 weekends ago, and realising just how surreal everything was. Wandering through the corridors of the hospital to stretch the legs, to get food, to generally pass time. I remember the feelings of loneliness down there when I wasn't upstairs in the delivery suite, knowing everyone looking after MOTS was over in that part of the hospital. The strangest feeling of it was the fact a process had started, and it wasn't going to stop, that this was it, we were about to become parents, whatever that entailed. And we weren't ready for it. And that we had zero control over what was happening now.

We both got sleep that Monday night, not a great deal but we got some. That was in between the check-ups which were several hours apart. "Next exam in 4 hours". The first hour always dragged, but then the last couple of hours seemed to fly by. Just as doing nothing is really tiring, waiting can be so quick too. With several hours between exams one should have had plenty of time to read that article on some mundane rubbish in that lads toys magazine I'd got, but for some reason time was up and I hadn't looked at it - I hadn't had time. HADN'T HAD TIME? What????

With Richard finally getting me to start my own blog not long before the birth it naturally became centred on boy wonder. Which in hindsight has been fantastic, this has settled a number of differences on when things have happened because I know they are in here. OK, so sometimes not in my favour exactly, but sometimes it is. So the lad will have Richard to thank later when he can't get at any of this because MySQL has long since been replaced with some incompatible rubbish that has more security holes in it than a copy of Windows.

We've had an enormous amount of support this year from those around us, which has been fantastic, and for which we're very grateful. Right from the best bacon sandwich I've ever had to the wholesale moving of the Jeffrey's house into ours bit by bit. Yes, Ali, your BBQ will be cleaned before I ring you to come and collect it! 2 burner plus side ring gas BBQ in B&Q at £40 just now. Hmm, time to say goodby to charcoal I think.

But the real stars of the show are my family. I could never thank MOTS enough for what she went through and does for that lad, because whatever she's doing he's happy and that makes me proud. Every time he come to me though choice it melts another piece of my heart away. I can only be thankful I am not the polar ice cap otherwise that whole global warming thing and ice melting, well there'd be no polar bears left (beautiful creatures they are).

So in party terms, that was a success I feel. A little food left over, booze down to an almost acceptable level, nothing expensive broken. But never again, that was too many. The half-dozen left huddling under the gazebo (R.I.P.) in the rain but too drunk to care was a nice quiet end to a busy day. When I say quiet... "Who let the dogs out???".

The aftermath of the party has clearly given me time to reflect on the past year, and here on the eve of his birthday that's a really nice time to do it. It's just the three of us tomorrow, which will be really nice. Even his latest jabs which were scheduled for tomorrow have been re-arranged, so it's up to us what we do, where we go, who we see. The three of us.

The three of us.