Un mes

¡Un mes hoy! ¡Que la vida es rápido! Forget Valentine, who’s had 1,515 days so far – today we’re celebrating one month of the nipper!
Grub’s being cooked, apples have been crumbled, ice cream flung into the freezer, and beer’s chilling as I type. If I drink enough of it, he won’t wake me up this night.
They’d no party hats in Kaisers, but I got fancy multicoloured balloons instead. There’s also a little cake with a solitary candle sitting in the middle of the table, waiting for him to sneeze it out. It’ll have to be a sneeze – he’s not yet following instructions, but if one sneeze comes then another invariably follows. He always sneezes three times, except when Jenny says, “he always sneezes three times,” when he always sneezes twice. One way or another, that candle is going out.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard to be honest. The little fella has been crying a lot. At times he’s inconsolable – either he’s realised he’s living in Pankow, or someone told him about all the forms he’s going to have to fill in once he’s older.
When he’s quiet though, he’s fantastic. Respites, when they come, make up for the rest. We look down at his peaceful face – ironically angelic – and try and keep up with all the others he pulls, happy to have the little fella in our lives.

Sorry for the interruption – had to go. Both the nipper and the grub were calling. The grub’s been consumed, much as he has consumed the past month, but the rest didn’t go according to plan I’m afraid. He sneezed – three times – but before the candle was lit, and he was in no mood for festivities once the candle was lit. Again, thoughts of Pankow must have flooded back.
The candle did go out, but by the time I finished changing his nappy – un mess – it had burned down to the cake. One way or the other. He’s a bit quieter now, happier to be slurping at the place he likes to call home. A little present from his Patentante remains unopened on the table, but there’s plenty of time for that – he’s still only a month.