Twelve
He was an emergency c-section - and the word "emergency" doesn't quite convey just how quickly everything deteriorated and how quickly the maternity staff reacted. The surgeon telling me - while they pushed me into the operating room - that people would pull at me from all sides but, "Don't get scared, they know exactly what they are doing", and yes, they did pull at all sides, arms left and right tied to supports, needles poking, the anesthesiologist telling me he had to guess about the dosage because there was no time to talk. I do still quite vividly remember the surgeon standing between my legs with scalpel raised, asking the anesthesiologist, "Can I cut?", and his colleague's answer, "Yes, she's out", and my protest that didn't quite make it across my lips because then I was really out. When I opened my eyes, I looked straight into my newborn son's beautiful eyes. And I had the shakes really, really badly because maybe the dosage of anesthesia was just a bit too much. But he was healthy and safe, and so was I, and that is really the best outcome a birth can have.
Then we shlepped him to Serbia, and years later to Romania, on to Armenia, Germany, Moldova, Palestine, and finally Kosovo. He has been going to five different schools and was homeschooled for a stretch. At the moment, he loves wearing a lab coat because he wants to become a scientist. We gave him three more siblings over the years and they love each other madly even when they fight. He wins hearts with his easy smile and his heart of gold. He is courageous, smart, funny, compassionate, imaginative, and curious. And slightly chaotic.
I still don't understand how all those years went by so quickly.
Happy Birthday, my big guy! Let's make it a good one!
If you would like to congratulate Alan for his birthday, please leave a comment here on the blog. I'm not on Facebook at the moment, although my posts get automatically shared on there, so if you comment on Facebook, we won't know until Easter. Thanks!
It's crazy hat day at school today. The right birthday present for my hat-loving boy!