celebrations – Page 2 – trippingdifferently

June 21, 2023

Final Teen Year…

So this was a month ago, but still relevant… in some ways, it’s good to blog about it today, which is the summer solstice and the last day of Tobias’ final exams.

Yep, a month ago he turned 19 and today he finished the last of his exams for his pre-university education.

It seems like such a long time ago that we were sending him to his first day at kindergarten and yet at the same time, the years have just flashed by. Such a clichè thing to say but nevertheless it’s true.

Are there things I wish I could go back and redo or unsay? Of course. Has it been filled with heartache and tears? Some of it. But it was also filled with joy, laughter and adventures.

In a few months, he is off to serve NS (National Service) in Singapore. A whole new chapter of his life and our journey as his parents, as a family.

I wanted to link to all the previous birthday posts but decided it was too much. So I am going to link to just this one – for his 9th birthday, 10 years ago, where I also mentioned clichè and comtemplated if I would be ready for him to venture out on his own.

I don’t know if I am 100% ready but I know it’s a great next step for him to take out into the big wide world. Are you a parent whose children have flown the nest? How was it? How did you manage the complete change in lifestyle and focus? Care to share?

Here’s a few photos from Tobias’ 19th birthday:

syc

May 31, 2022

Legally an Adult…

Well, at least in Switzerland, my boy is now considered an adult at 18 years old!

Oh my, where did the time go? 18 years ago, we welcomed this little chubby baby into our lives and what an adventure it has been. From the uncertainty of first-time parenthood to his first steps, from his first day at kindergarten to two broken arms, through the frustrations and the joys of being a family (every family has its moments), from growing pains to pride, he is now on the brim of adulthood! Wow!

He decided that for his 18th birthday party to have just a couple of friends over for some food and games. So we bought his favourite sushi and added on some KFC to make sure that hungry teenagers are well fed. Of course, the must-have red velvet cupcakes was made and consumed. Very low key but that was what he wanted.

We did break with tradition and instead of me cooking a nice dinner at home, we went out to a lovely restaurant by the river and had some lovely fish.

Sigh! My baby is now an adult. This will take time to sink in. And while I mull over that, here are a few photos…

syc

February 24, 2021

Lockdown Birthdays…

i don’t usually blog about my own birthday or about the Husband’s birthday, however, we have been dealing with pandemic times so i thought i would make a note of it here that we have all had our lockdown birthdays!

Tobias was the first one to have a lockdown birthday and it was during the first lockdown when restrictions were quite severe. So it was just a quiet one at home, with some special homemade cupcake deliveries to a few close friends of his. We did manage to make up for it by going for a belated birthday paintball day at the end of July when everything was opened for a short while.

On the train with friends, on the way to belated birthday paintball outing

Lexi’s birthday was up next in July! Usually we would be away for her birthday and would not be able to celebrate with her on the actual day. But extended quarantine requirements meant we didn’t make our annual trip to Singapore so i made a special doggy cake for her and we made a fuss of her.

When my birthday rolled around, theatres were still closed so my wish to see a show was not a possibility. The lovely Husband booked a socially-distanced table at a local Greek restaurant (just weeks before Switzerland went into another semi-lockdown) and we all went for a nice meal with an opportunity to learn a few Greek words off the napkins.

Learn some Greek words while you wait for your Greek dinner to be served

The Husband just celebrated his birthday very recently. With all the restaurants still shut, we went to town, at home, with a chicken curry dinner (i rarely cook a curry cos i don’t really eat it) and a yummy chocolate cake. You might think it’s nothing much but it is something special for us because pre-pandemic, most years, the Husband would have been away on a work trip on his actual birthday! So it’s nice to be able to celebrate it on the right day.

Decadent birthday chocolate cake for the Husband

Did you have a lockdown birthday? How did you celebrate it? Care to share?

syc