Most of this post was written a few days ago - Before my birthday balloons and videos - For everyone who said congratulations or Happy Birthday by text, message or video- thanks so much. Cheers. Grab a drink on me and send the bill....Also, please feel free to go straight to the bottom of this post and read about what a good day I am actually having....
For those that want to know what was going on in my head 2 1/2 days ago - please read on.
What time is it?
What day is it?
Things are happening - somewhere.
Some of these things are happening to me and some are happening to you. There are, in fact, a lot of people who are having things happen to them and all around them as I type and you read this.
You can probably see something happening to someone right now, if you stand up, waddle over to your bathroom window (Yes, I know everyone who reads this does do while sitting on the porcelain throne) and take a peek out, over your back garden into the outside world. Its interesting isn't it? These things are going on all the time.
I got out of bed a couple of nights ago at 1.23am, I sat on a rocking chair and watched as 2 thieves (definitely thieves) walked along the middle of the road in front of our house, dragging a suitcase behind them. I was watching them do their thing and if they had looked up, they would have seen naked old me, sat on a rocking chair, wrapped in a yellow baby blanket, watching them, wondering if I was going to get much more sleep.
I didn't.
My point in all of this is that something is always happening. Time passes us by and things..................still.....................happen.
So the fact that I turn 50 today makes absolutely no difference to me, the world in General or my two early morning thieving buddies, who I hope enjoyed their ill-gotten gains and the fact that they probably went home to their underbridge tent and got a whole lot more sleep than me. The lucky thieving bastards!
Maybe I should return to my youth and go out in the middle of the night robbing things out of garden sheds. It might give me a bit more rest. Although with my bad shoulder, dodgy knee and painful right wrist (no, not from doing that) I probably wouldn't be as good at scaling back fences and climbing walls as I was back in the '80s.
However, even though I am now halfway to 100, a target that unless the earth explodes in a huge fireball I fully intend to obtain and exceed, I am still trying to look after myself. My body is aching in many places, my mind is not as fast as it used to be, but with time and a little effort, I do think I am managing to stick a middle digit up towards Chronos (Kronos) and his Greek God Buddy, Geras.
It has been 10 years since I left the army - 10 years since I ran along the banks of the Bosphorus, (or was is the Sea of Marmara?) on what would be my final attempt at the army running test, while I WAS STILL actually a soldier. Back then I managed a time of 10.38minutes.
Here's the post of that day....https://rickssummer.blogspot.com/2010/09/turkey.html
Now, 10 years later, I got up out of bed and tried the run again - I fucking smashed it - 10 minutes and 9 seconds and I had energy to spare when I finished. I cannot say how happy I am that I am still able to pass a BFT!!
When I left the army in 2010 I weighed 63kg or approximately 139lbs. Now, on a normal day, I average about 64kg or 142lbs. So that's not too bad, is it? (Today I am actually 140lb exactly)
I still have all my own teeth, I've fathered 2 crazy children and married a gorgeous woman 17 years my junior. (Not in that order - haha).
I sometimes wonder if I should have done all the family and kids thing earlier in life, so I wouldn't be as knackered at 50 and would be able to come home, watch TV and laze about like a lot of other 50-year-old dads do. But when I think back to my 20's. 30's and 40s. The places I have been, some of which I was sober enough at the time to remember now. The people I met and the experiences that I have had, I think I have done alright. So I should get on with working, being a good dad and husband and friend to Buffy. Then in a few years, I will still be willing, ready and able to get on a plane, fly off to somewhere crazy with the family and do it all again - except the robbing sheds part. Happy Birthday me. Oh, look, over there - there's a person doing a thing!
You aren't interested in me though, are you? All you want is to hear about Hannah being cute and Oliver being smaller and cuter. Well, I am here to please - so here are what's been actually going on over the last couple of weeks.
Oliver Aspen was born at 8.56pm on Sep 2nd. He was actually due on 17th, today, but because he was measuring small, the Dr helped Buffy along early by performing a Cervical swipe - I presume with a windscreen wiper. This began the labour and early the next day, after a Tim Hortons doughnut and Ice Cap, we headed to the brand new Women's Hospital.
We enjoyed a lovely day in Triage and after moving up to the birthing room, spending about 6 hours with our Nurse Lisa, watching the Emergency Helicopter land on the rooftop helipad and basically enjoying a nice afternoon and evening. T
he birthing room also had huge hot spotlights in the ceiling above the bed, so the nurses and doctors (and me) could get a real good look at the action going on - All we needed was a stage and some makeup for Buffy - who was the leading performer until Oliver stole the show!
Buffy tried about a few different positions to give birth - including squatting and all fours, but as soon as the Doctor told her to move onto her back, Oliver climbed back up, like Hannah climbs up a slide. He refused to even go near the light again for about 45 frustrating minutes. Then when Buffy once again tried the squatting position, he started to make his escape. The Doctor, me and the nurses helped and manhandled Buffy from the floor, back onto the bed - which would have been an awesome and funny video to show, so that she was in a comfortable position for little Oliver to make his entrance to the world.
The next couple of days were spent in the hospital, with Buffy and O taking tests and being checked until everything was good for us to come home on Friday morning. Putting the tiny baby in the car seat brought back memories of how tiny Hannah was when she was born - apart from the fact that Oliver is a whole pound lighter - He really is teeny tiny!
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| I like to post bad photos sometimes! Much more realistic! |
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| She was just trying this out for size |
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| Uncle Pat and Oliver |
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| Not your bed anymore Hanny! |
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