“Mommy… how did you choose my birthday? Why October 12?”
“Oh, I didn’t! It’s random. Mothers don’t generally get to pick when they give birth. I guess, technically, you decided when you wanted to be born.”
“Huh. I picked a good day, didn’t I?”
“Perfect timing. The day after daddy’s birthday.”
This is truly what I thought seven years ago when Mark’s birth was the cutest “present” ever to Feng. In hindsight, I did underestimate the logistics challenges ahead. Every year, I’m scrambling to plan two birthdays back to back every year. They also often fall right before Thanksgiving when the entire population of Canadian is stocking up on groceries and I have to meet expectations with instructions ranging from “nah, I don’t need anything, I’m old, fuck Juliette, I’m getting old” to “I want a cake that doesn’t say cake but BIRTHDAY CAKE!”
This year, to top it all, Friday was a PD day (i.e. no school for Mark) and I’m swamped with three assignments due by Tuesday.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, daddy is the winner, he was born before me.”
“No matter which day he was born, Daddy is older than you.”
“So, how did you know I was ready to be born?”
“You… basically told me you wanted out.”
“And you listened to me?”
“Well, I had to! You kicked harder than usual. Like, hard. I couldn’t sleep. I was looking at the clock and eventually, I got the message so I woke Daddy up.”
“Oh oh… seriously?”
“Oh yeah, seriously. This is exactly the kind of situation when you’re supposed to wake Daddy up. And you know what he said? ‘Oh, shit, I didn’t shave!’ So he went to shave and I turned my computer on. I went online, just waiting, you know. Oh, I remember I ate chips. Like, the entire pack of chips.”
“You ate chips?”
“I’m human, okay? However unlike you, I sit down to eat so I don’t make a mess. Anyway, it was a strange night. So we waited, waited, waited and then we drove to the hospital at sunrise. And then… andthenyoucameout—”
Please don’t ask for full details now.
“—and you were born at 11:04 a.m.”
“What did I do?”
“You screamed, ate and slept.”
“What did I eat?”
“Milk. Breast milk, actually.”
“And you put me to bed right away?”
“Why, was I supposed to let you watch TV? Babies sleep a lot!”
“What did you do?”
“I took a shower, went for a walk around the park and called grand-maman and grand-papa to tell them you were born. We spent the night at the hospital and the next day we took you home.”
“Was I still sleeping?”
“You woke up often enough but yes, you slept a lot. At least the first… three days.”
“What was I eating?”
“Just milk.”
“I don’t even like milk! Did you eat cool stuff when I was in your belly? You shared the food with me, right?”
Honey, I have high-res pictures of the placenta. I’ll share them when you’re old enough for that.
“Yep. I ate… the usual, I suppose. Same stuff I like now.”
“You made me eat veggies?”
“Tons of them. I was obsessed with celery for some reason. Don’t worry, I also shared burgers, fries and chocolate with you.”
“Oh. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Did you take me anywhere cool when I was in your belly?”
“Well, technically Mexico. Then we went to New York City in the spring, and England and France in the summer.”
“That’s a lot!”
“You were in there for nine months, plenty of time to travel.”
“That long? Wow. Eh, we should go to England. I mean, you and daddy went but I didn’t see anything… cause obviously I was in your belly.”
If seven years ago, someone had told me I would have these kinds of conversations walking to the supermarket with Mark, I would have laughed.
Mark, life is better with you. Happy birthday, kiddo!
Two cakes, seven presents, six balloons, two cards, two songs and many pictures later…
he had lost his front teeth, I didn’t notice 😀 !
and I cried reading your birthday card, it is soo sweet ! Selamat Ulang Tahun, mark! warm kisses from Jakarta!
Thank you!
Yep, lost a first tooth when we came back from France and the second one shortly after. Do you have a “tooth fairy” tradition in Indonesia?
throw lower teeth to the roof and upper teeth to the ground. so the teeth could grow back :))
Oh, I love it! Kind of makes sense too!
Happy birthday Mark (and Feng too) !
What I love the most about this conversation is the part when Mark wonders : “and you listened to me ?” …
Des bises
😆 His comment really made me laugh. I guess for him it’s unusual he gets to make “big” decisions!
“Mommy, how did you chose my birthday ?” This is the cutest conversation ever 🙂 🙂 🙂
I was born 2 days after my mom’s birthday, so we always celebrate together. Now, we’ve even added a third member to our end-of-june-birthday-group : my little nephew (he is 3). One party, 3 cakes, what could be better than that ?
Oh, and happy birthday to Mark and Fend 😉 🙂 🙂
And June is a cool month for a great birthday party too: good weather, long days… Perfect!
Were you ever jealous your mum’s birthday was before yours or so close to yours?
Nope, it never crossed my mind. I always liked the idea of almost sharing my birthday with her.
That’s cute 😉
He’s the cutest little guy! Bonne fête à ton homme et p’tit d’homme! 🙂
Thank you!
Haha i have to ask, why are you all on the floor? ;p Un très bel anniversaire à Mark, j’ai hâte de savoir de quoi ses 7 ans seront faits 🙂
I’m not sure why, we just… don’t use tables at home. We have coffee tables, a kitchen table, but we always end up reading, playing, sorting out laundry and more on the floor 😆 Also, he got the cake and present before dinner. And also, we don’t really eat dinner at the table anyway (horreur! disent les Français :lol:)
Happy belated birthdays!
Mark is definitely the sweetest kid. 🙂
… especially in picture, i.e. still and smiling 😆
Omg happy belated birthday to Mark ! Omg he is 7 ! He is growing up so fast
Yours as well, I assume 😉