Rebirth

Six years ago, I wrote the first post on this blog, in anticipation of the arrival of our son, Asa.

In addition to the excitement of impending fatherhood, I was inspired by two members of my family who’d blogged.

Seth, a cousin, had written a blog about his son Tofu. When Seth died midway through Tofu’s second year of life, the blog became a sort of message in a bottle, a testament of his love for his child. 

The other inspiration was my aunt Anne. Her blog helped her friends and family – spread quite widely across the world – stay informed about her battle with cancer.

This month we welcomed into our family a baby girl, whom we’ve named after Anne.

Anne (nickname Ayya) at 3 weeks old, on Christmas Day

At birth baby Anne weighed in at just over 3 kilos (6 lb, 7 oz). She's a small package. But she changes the balance of our family, shifts the fulcrum. From being two adults and a child (adults holding the majority), we now have equal representation from children.

Asa and I, as males, are preparing ourselves for the impacts of a second female in the house.

Resolution

She also represents a challenge for this blog, which began as a vehicle for my wonder at Asa’s presence in the world. The blog then morphed into a kind of cancer diary; and hasn’t known quite what to do with itself since.

I’m way overdue, for example, in relating the transition we’ve made from the days when Asa was in hospital every 3 weeks, and getting treated every time … to the current regime of 2-monthly exams, the purpose of which is mainly to check we’re still in remission. It’s a very different place.

Maybe it would have been a challenge to keep the blog going anyhow. As children move from toddlerhood to school age ... life gets complicated. At least it did for us. 

Then again, we've only ever done this once.

But -- Anne, here I'm talking to you -- we feel you've arrived at a good time. Asa and the rest of us are ready to do our kindred duties.

As part of mine (I must admit the more practical matters rest largely on Selam’s shoulders) I want to enlarge and revive this blog.

Just as you are enlarging our family, and giving us new life.

Happy new year / Melkam addis amet