Annual Update

My son is currently in Australia without me.

He’s with his Dad, of course, visiting our family, but it feels slightly surreal that I feel safe enough for him to be 15,558 kilometres away from me.

Over the past couple of years, the Bean has grown so much in independence and maturity. He is learning to navigate the world on his own, which is just as it should be for a 10-almost-11-year-old boy.

I’m quite conscious of how fast time passes, and that soon he’ll be leaving his childhood years behind. It’s a strange feeling, a keen ache, knowing that our children will grow up, and no longer need their parents on a daily basis. They will have their own lives to live, mistakes to make, and world to discover.

That feeling is intensified when it comes to Gavin, because his existence feels like a gift. I would love to press pause on this season of our lives, when he is at this kind-of perfect age, reasonable and self-sufficient, yet still child enough to want to hold his mum’s hand.

I’m also happy though, to see him thrive, and grow, and become. This year has been a good one. His health continues stable. Skye’s health continues stable. For the most part, that’s all I ask for. The rest of it – life, I mean – is a work in progress, and we manage to figure it out, together.