Turning seventeen!

17 years ago tonight, I was lying in a hospital bed feeling bemused and bewildered.

An unplanned and very unexpected pregnancy, I had come to terms with the small person that was growing inside me and even though I had no idea what I was going to actually do with an actual real baby when it arrived, I was nervously excited.

I was two weeks overdue and very nervous. Earlier that day, I had visited the midwife. It was a different midwife to my usual one and she was slightly concerned that baby was in a funny position. Lo and behold, baby O started life as he intended to continue; being awkward. He was upside down and I was ‘strongly advised’ that I should have a c-section.

It still feels like yesterday that I lay there in the hospital looking at this amazing little bundle wrapped in the regulation orange NHS blanket. He had a tiny nose and a mass of black fluffy hair. He was so calm and contented. I couldn’t believe that he was my baby.

Fast forward to today and that little bundle is going to be seventeen tomorrow. The nose is bigger, he still has the mass of hair and he is usually quite calm, when he isn’t doing the whole dramatic teenage stroppy thing. SEVENTEEN!! How did that happen? Where did those years go? We seemed to have moved from tiny to teen in a blink of an eye. Tomorrow I am going to be the mum of a seventeen year old.

This means driving. Argh!

I was kind of hoping that he would be one of those kids that wasn’t really interested in driving. We live in town, he never has to walk too far. But oh no, some of his mates have already taking lessons, so he fancies giving it a go. Apparently walking is overrated. Indeed, much like buying a car and insuring the damn thing for a teenager is over priced. I have informed him that under no uncertain terms will I be purchasing or insuring this car that he now has his heart set on. He needs to get a job. However, he seems to be taking the passive route to finding a job. You know the one where, if you sit and think about it long enough, a job will just magically appear and pay you lots of money to boot.

So, not only will he soon be on the move and (hopefully) working, he is also starting to think ahead; to what lies beyond school and things. Scary stuff.

But tomorrow, we will make a big fuss of him and I shall no doubt remind him that he is still my baby, although I may have to stand on tiptoe to tell him.