Happy birthday GG & BB! You turned 15 over the weekend and as it happens every year, I can’t help but think of the two little babies I brought into this world who would fit comfortably in the crook of my arms. You’ve both grown up so much now, with BB towering more than a head over me. GG, who is my little chilli padi is still slightly miffed at the genes she got handed out at birth which makes her only chest high to her brother, but you are a feisty girl who is slowing becoming a lovely, graceful, but still a very feisty young woman.
Fifteen years back, I fell in love, irrevocably and completely and this feeling has only intensified in the intervening years. I can still remember the first words I uttered when I woke up from my anaesthesia were about you both and since that second, your well-being and happiness has been the absolute priority in my life.
Some days I lie in bed and start to worry and freak out. You both are fifteen now and only a few years away from legal adulthood. Very soon, you will finish school and life as I know it will end. You both will become more independent and mum will only be a peripheral part of your lives. I don’t know if I am ready for these changes yet. BB will go on to do his National Service in 3-4 years (depending on what educational route you take to after your O levels) and then will change into a man! I will surely miss my sweet little boy, but I can’t stop nature having her way, right?
BB, you are a sweetheart and I don’t say this because I am your mum and am biased (well, that too). You are one of the sweetest boys I have met (and thanks to you I have met many) who does not have a bad bone in his head or his heart. You always think the best of everyone and even when you get bullied, you’d rather just brush it off or keep it to yourself just because you don’t want to get someone in trouble. But you should learn to take a stand. When you leave the protected environment of your school and go out into the world, you will soon realise man comes in many forms and so when you don’t learn to stand up for yourself, you may find yourself pushed down to the bottom of the barrel.
GG, you are such a sweetheart, so giving and caring. You own each room when you enter it because of your personality. You are a natural leader, something I always knew and I am glad this year you got to showcase it to others when you became the Vice President of your CCA. You have a wonderful work ethic, one that will be an asset to you in the years to come. I have no doubt that irrespective of the career path you choose, you will become someone who is very successful (whatever your definition of success is). I know you dislike certain subjects in school, but you still work hard on those just because you have a natural desire to excel and set personal high standards for yourself. Keep doing that and success will kiss your feet always.
Happy birthday to my sweethearts! It was your birthday, but my present has and always has been the two of you – the best thing in my life!
