MY LAST THIRTEEN
‘Thank you for everything’, I heard him say as I wished him a good night. ‘Thank you for making today special’.
Indeed, it was a special day. My son turned thirteen. The last of my children to become a teenager. The time when they transition to more responsibilities. It is also the time when, until my older daughter has her birthday in August, that the children’s ages are all in succession. So, now my children are 13, 14, and 15 years of age. Sage being my last thirteen.
The efforts we make do not go unnoticed by those who value them. We should strive to never be too busy to make someone’s life better. Even if that means having to put something else on hold whilst you do special something for that special person.
The day began with a simple breakfast of Sage’s favourite style of eggs, sunny side up, topped with fresh chives. And coffee. I also made him avocado toast, but he was unable to eat it. After he finished breakfast, I gave him his first present as he would be needing it for school. It was a Tesla hoodie he has been asking for since over a year. Because I was on my way to leave the car with a car repair shop nearby, I dropped off my son at school.
After leaving my car and being driven back home, I continued with my work day and waited for a call from the repair shop. When they called around noontime, they informed me that the CV joint was damaged but looked to be recently replaced. I then called the other repair shop where I had the axle replaced last April and determined that it was still under warranty.
During my lunch break, I was picked up by the driver from the new repair shop and then drove my car over to the other shop for service. Then I was driven back home to continue my day and wait the day or two until the warranty issue was repaired. I was grateful to have been able to work from home for precisely these reasons.
By the time my son returned home, I had two small cake pans with ricotta cake batter in the oven. I had decided to make the favourite ricotta cake we all love. The recipe I developed for my older daughter’s sixth birthday in Berlin. As we waited for the cakes to cool, Sage opened another of his presents.
‘Mama, you’re spoiling me. I don’t deserve this’, I heard him say as the box revealed the headset he wanted for his Oculus Quest. The one with an extra battery pack attached. As he played with that, I went back to doing some more work.
When I finished with my work for the day, we sat outside on the balcony and ate a simple macaroni and cheese dinner, enhanced with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest with broccoli on the side. Then we enjoyed his birthday cake with vanilla ice cream.
Afterwards, his father called him to see when would be a good time to meet. The boat still needed to be returned and Saffron needed to be picked up from her banquet at school. My son and I decided to walk across the street to meet him at the school and to decide what to do next. When he arrived with Cinnamon, we discussed the issue with our son coming home late last night. My son’s assessment of the situation was correct. His father would have communicated with me had it not been for the insane jealousy of his wife.
As we all stood around, with the sun slowly setting in the background, I brought up the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial which Cinnamon is also following on TikTok. At least the highlights. My children’s father had no knowledge of who these people are, but when I described the contents and what it meant for men in cases of domestic violence, I heard him say ‘Just like our family’. Later in the evening, Sage recalled this statement and said ‘Finally, he admits it’.
In the meantime, Sage’s father got a call from his wife. Apparently, she felt ‘left out’ and needed to be a part of my son’s dinner. I looked at him and said ‘What about me? I can’t even celebrate with my son together’.
‘Sorry, I know. I’m just trying to make it through another day’, he replied. Then he let me know of a friend of his who is divorced, but not remarried, who spends time together with his ex-wife and her new husband and their families. I told him that’s how I wanted this to be with all of us and that I thought things were going better lately with his wife. We both realised things were back to the old ways.
My invitation for all of us to spend next summer in Croatia with the kids stills stands. The idea was that I take the kids for two or three weeks, with their father and wife joining us for a week before going to Germany afterwards to see his sister. He explained he is not thinking so far in advance, but I let him know I will be looking at airline tickets at the end of this year.
As my son left with his father and sisters, I continued my walk after the sun had already set. The full moon was out and provided enough light for my hour-long walk. It was after 22,30 when my son returned home after having dinner at MOD Pizza. He was very happy to have spent time with his father and sisters, in addition to having had a celebration at home. Children need both parents and should never feel as if they need to choose one over the other.
