Celebrating my boy: A journey through seven years of motherhood
I thought the emotions would fade over time, that maybe the rollercoaster of feelings around his birthday would calm down. But here I am again, seven years into this journey, and suddenly everything is all over the place.
I find myself drifting back to that evening over 40 weeks pregnant, the night hubby and I drove into the hospital. I even made a little video back then, reflecting on how in the nine years of being together, it was no longer just about us. A tiny side joke, but one that still makes me smile.
After giving birth and waking from that first sleep, I remember the nurse saying, “Hier is Cairo se ma,” and I thought to myself, Cairo?
His dad nodded and said, yes, he’s named after one of my favourite skateboarders, Cairo Foster. “I loved Paul Rodrigues and Ryan Sheckler too, but imagine a baby named Ryan or Paul!” he continued, I laughed and agreed, Cairo was perfect.
I even looked up the meaning: “The Victorious,” “The Conqueror.” Perfect. Especially after the doctors had told us there was a big chance we might not be able to have a baby at all.
Fast forward seven years… and here we are. Big boy. Somehow we’ve managed to raise this little human, and I can’t even comprehend how quickly time has flown. I still remember his first steps, his first words “dadda” (let’s not go there) the first flower he gave me, saying the ‘Our Father’ like he’d known it forever.
And now? Now we have a “let’s go to Starbucks for my birthday” guy. The boy with the liveliest spirit, who never backs down from a challenge, and who challenges me too in both the good and naughty ways. We’ve been counting down to his birthday for months, and now we’re finally here.
All he cares about is Starbucks and ice cream for his friends.
“I don’t want a party, Mommy and please tell ma and pa not to buy me anything, they only have their old people money (pension). They can just come with when we go out and get cake, okay mommy?” My mother-heart melts, so compassionately, so thoughtful…we must be doing something right.
To top it all off, he even met Ryan Sheckler just days before his birthday. Life feels full of these little perfect moments that I tuck away in my heart.
I look forward to 08:05 the exact moment he was born. The moment my life changed forever. And yes, I’ll probably cry again, but I want him to know his birthday means the world to me. It’s the day we were blessed with our very firstborn, our little conqueror.
Happy birthday baby! We love you so much.
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za