Old years day

Well, here it is; the last day of the year. Time once again to reflect on the year gone by and to look forward to the one ahead.

The difference in the children is, perhaps understandably, amazing. A year is a long time in the life of a child, particularly the ages they’re at.

Joseph has left his toddler status behind and is now a ‘boy’. He has started school, he knows his alphabet and how to add and subtract numbers. He’s kind, polite, shy and handsome, he loves food, reading books, his Cars DVD and going on trains.

Annabel too has left behind her baby label and is now a fully-fledged toddler and has moved from the baby room to Little Learners at nursery where she has taken a shine to Andrew, the chap who comes in to do “Tots in Sports” every Tuesday. She is also kind, very caring and loving, not shy in the slightest and very pretty. She likes food (as long as it’s fish fingers), she loves bags, shoes and her dollies. Like Joseph she loves books, her Chantal Goya (a French children’s singer) DVD and, most of all, drawing (or painting as she prefers to call it).

Personally, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am rather clumsy. Very clumsy in fact. Think Howard from “The Worst Week Of My Life” and you’re close. Whilst being clumsy isn’t a label I am overly proud of, it is refreshing to see it as clumsiness rather than constantly suspecting the forces of the entire universe conspiring against me day in day out. Sod’s Law as I usually refer to it.

On a totally different note, reading a book from Joseph’s Thomas the Tank engine collection the other night, I realised that the name Annabel is a blending of Thomas’s coaches Annie and Clarabel.

Anyhow, I hope your 2006 was enjoyable. I hope you can look back and say to yourself, “you know, as far as years go, that one was pretty darn good”.

And I hope your 2007 turns out to be wonderful. Remember, as long as you have your health, everything else is a bonus.

See you next year.