Grateful

I watched the other day as Mietta looked intently at her hand and, one by one, furled and unfurled her fingers. Oblivious to Mietta, her other hand was going through the identical motions. Apparently it was a fascinating learning experience for her. It was just gorgeous: the absolute wonder of a baby learning the minutia of life. It made me feel sad for those that miss out on these small but momentous experiences. I remember once, a lady telling us how “rich” we were to have a child. No matter how impoverished we are, stuck in a seemingly permanent financial-reverse-gear, this statement comes back to remind me how incredibly lucky we have been to be able to have three great and healthy kids and have been able watch our children grow. Apart from those occasions where it drives us truly nuts, we are grateful that we haven’t had to outsource childcare to people that might enjoy it, but not appreciate the true magic and wonder of a baby learning, growing and appreciating the world. We are truly rich. 

We have further reason to be grateful as we follow the tragic news of the bushfires that have ravaged the state of Victoria in Australia. On Tuesday night, we attended a fundraising event for the Redcross Victorian Bushfire Benefit. A great turn-out of some 200 people (largely Australian) attended at fairly short notice. I was one of the raffle donors, donating a rum sum sum artwork for the cause. The big ticket item was a dinner for four at chef Art Smith’s home (former personal chef to Oprah). It went for auction at $5000. It was fun to watch two competing bidders come together in a little happy collusion to boost the bid price. Paul was lucky enough to attend a dinner at Art’s house - some 3½ years ago - for free! But that is another story. 

Our first-born Luc reached the big ol’ milestone of five years on the 11th. We are quite amazed that we have managed to get a child through to this age in life! The whole family went along to Luc’s school for a birthday ceremony. Following the same format as last year’s ceremony,  Luc circled a candle (the sun), holding a globe (the earth), passing through the months, starting and ending at February while his class sang “the earth revolves around the sun, tra la la and Luc turns... one”. Luc’s teacher then showed a photo of Luc at age one. This  was repeated for each year of Luc’s life. It is such a lovely way to celebrate one’s birthday. 

After a huge nappy blowout, Mietta celebrated by rolling from tummy to back today -obviously aided by a significant decrease in weight. 

Photo: Mietta post-bath at her grandparents house in Australia (January)