June is a big month for birthdays in our family. First it's Kobe's birthday, then mine, Noah and Dad's birthdays are the same day and then my brother Christian's.
I used to really dread celebrations like Mother's Day and birthdays after Aaron died. I don't care at all about gifts, but Aaron always made such an effort to make me feel extra special.
Mother's Day can be one of the hardest celebrations all year, especially if I get on social media. It's hard seeing what other husbands are doing for their wives and to hear what they are writing about them. It's those days when I feel really alone. But as my boys have gotten older, they've made such an effort to make the day easier for me. This year they bought me some lovely gifts, let me take a family photo with no complaining, and Jay cooked me my favourite dinner of roast chicken and baked veggies.
Kobe gets so excited as his birthday is coming up and always wants to have a party. I hate having to plan a party as it's hard work on my own and birthdays are really just a day I often want to get over with. He's only had a couple of big birthday parties with friends and I secretly felt very happy that I had a good excuse as to why he couldn't have one this year, thanks to Covid 19 restrictions.
It's hard to believe that he is now 12. I think his cute baby face makes him seem younger than he is. It's weird to think that he's now the same age that Jalen was when Aaron passed away.
Kobe was very happy that restrictions eased a little just before his birthday, as it meant that restaurants could now open up to ten patrons at a time. He was very excited to go to his favourite Japanese restaurant for his birthday tea.
I was doing an online professional learning on my birthday, which was actually lovely because it meant I got to go out for brunch with my friend Lynne in the morning before the online workshop began.
It was nice to be at home all day and the professional learning I did was really good. We had scheduled breaks throughout the day and it was a lovely sunny day, so Jay went and bought us sushi for lunch and we ate outside on the deck.
The boys gave me a gift voucher for a massage, so after my online workshop was over I had that.
It was a big day of food and that night we went to Burger Junkie for dinner. I made the boys take another family photo with me and told them it was part of their birthday presents to me.
It was nice that Jay was home for Noah's birthday. It still blows my mind that he would've been turning 19. After school and work we went to the cemetery with balloons.
Kobe had a bit of trouble trying to get the 1 and the 9 in the right place.
As much as I don't like getting older, I also know how lucky I am to celebrate birthdays more on Earth, because many don't get to.
