This is a day that is so filled with love and joy and bittersweet memories that I hardly know how to process it all. So, as always, I’ll focus on the positive: thoughts of how incredibly happy this day was four years ago.
 
We got the call at the cottage, having finished an early Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday of the long weekend. We’d been on pins and needles awaiting that phone call from Lauren and it came just as we were getting ready to serve ourselves seconds. Sister Leslie, who lived nearby, was called into action: in they swooped to stay with the dogs and clean up after dinner.
 
I remember so much about that late night drive to Ottawa, including a low-slung, pumpkin-coloured moon that guided our way until we got close to Ottawa. Then, as if on cue to provide a backdrop for the mood ahead, a light rain began. For it was then that we got a call from a worried Phil saying that Lauren was going to have to undergo a Caesarian section: she’d had but one contraction and it was evident that the baby was in distress.
 
I was sorry not to be at her side, but had heeded her stern request for no company that Thanksgiving weekend. We arrived in the dark, just hours after Colin’s arrival and will forever associate the gratitude of this annual holiday with the way we felt when he made it into the world – albeit a little grey – safe and sound.
 
11’s can hold joy on our calendar, too, you see. It’s just the yin and yang of life and the universe in general, isn’t it? (You can see the video I posted of the day after his arrival here.) It seems impossible that he’s grown so quickly in just four years, but that’s how life works, right? Another trip around the sun, as they say. 
 

 
Today, he’s a beautiful, strong, tall and healthy boy. He’s happy and does math almost better than I do (which isn’t really saying much, I confess). He’s got an inquisitive mind and an ear for mimicry. His latest trick: “EEEEHHHH. Winner! Gagnon!” No, he hasn’t inherited Grama Banana’s penchant for video poker (that we know of) but it’s his version of the sound he heard a machine bellow while at a cash register recently.
 
Colin is crazy for Paw Patrol, loves to read and sings Raffi’s “Baby Beluga” beautifully. He’s a rough and tumble little boy who likes nothing better than to be jumping on or off things. He keeps his momma and daddy on their toes, for sure.
 
I know that Lauren is beside him, beside Phil and Brooke, helping in any way that she can to give them the strength and stamina to keep up with this amazing little person. Despite being first-time parents, they’ve both got wisdom galore and are doing a great job of guiding him with what we would say is the right balance of love and discipline. I’m just so proud of the three of them for the life they’re building and the memories they’re making with every passing day.
 
Happy Birthday, Colin. You have so many people near and far who love you very deeply, including more grandparents than you’ll probably ever figure out! And our devotion to you only grows with every passing year. Thank you for bringing us such joy, sweet boy. Thank you, Lauren, for leaving us with this everlasting gift.
 
Love, Grama and Grandad Banana.