Gregory turns eight

I am not crazy about celebrating special days, with the exemption of those of my immediate family. My son Gregory turned eight years yesterday and we will celebrate the day with a belated dinner on Saturday. This was agreed weeks in advance and I therefore felt ambushed when on the eve of his birthday, he led a delegation that comprised his sister Natasha and mother Georgina with a request for some snacks to take to school.

Being outnumbered I reluctantly agreed to the request. A box of biscuits and a packet of sweets were procured from the local supermarket. Seems it was all worth the cost because in the evening, he was overly exited about how the day went and how his friends perceived him. Seeing how happy he was, I couldn’t help but shared in his joy.

A precedent having been set, and with Natasha’s own fourth birthday coming up in August, I fear that it will be hard to stop this double celebration of birthdays at home and at school. I cannot help thinking how lucky these kids are. In my day, a casual reminder at dinner that; “oh, by the way you turned ten years today”, was all the birthday that one got. Our only big day was Christmas during which a new set of clothes and shoes were customary. If anything else happened in the course of the year, you were very lucky.

How times have changed.