It’s been a mad couple of weeks, so it feels like such a long time ago that we gathered for Sunday roasts at The Stuffed Walrus with our NCT crowd. This newly refurbished pub, named after the famous exhibit at the Horniman museum, is so insanely child-friendly that they’ve dedicated an entire room as a children’s soft play area. So, naturally it was a perfect location to pick for lunch together, and it was great to see everyone again!
The following week, Randi and I celebrated one of our wedding anniversaries at Bona pizza. We’ve finally accepted that we should just get one truffle mayo dip each, rather than attempting to share and then subjecting each other to an intrusive two-way surveillance regime. On such grounded foundations are solid relationships built ❤️
We then had an unexpected turn of events leading to an impromptu return to California to deal with an emergency… but fear not, everyone is OK! Massive thanks to Mike & Marcie for letting us crash at theirs for a few nights, in addition to giving me a quiet place to work during the day. I’m glad that we finally had time for some politics + wine one evening, too, which was presumably the first time anyone has gazed over the nighttime hills of Yorba Linda whilst complaining about the triple lock. (And speaking of Yorba Linda: many apologies to their neighbours for almost breaking into their house.)
We’re incredibly lucky that our child is still totally fine with transatlantic travel, and he definitely loves all the attention he receives from Randi’s family when we’re over there. In fact, it even inspired him to suddenly master the art of crawling all the way up their staircase. In general, we are taking a lackadaisical approach to childproofing: I did finally pay someone to replace our “teetering tower of wooden panels” in the hallway with a proper hinge door (childproofing ✔) but have given up on stair gates since they don’t play well with Edwardian bannisters (childproofing ✗). We’re hoping he can just learn the precautionary principle early, although given that his current favourite activity is “close my eyes and launch myself off the side of the bed”, this might be a stretch.
Where was I? Oh, yes, California… where I also used this opportunity to sample one of Yorba Linda’s public playgrounds for the first time. It was only a short walk from Beth and Stu’s home, and when we first arrived just before 10am on a Sunday morning it was totally deserted, despite some decent playground equipment in good condition. This seemed very sad in comparison to city parks. But then a couple of other families arrived with their kids – which annoyed me, because it ruined my thesis – and so I ended up sitting on the sidelines grumpily taking notes for this blog instead.
Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt less in common with a fellow group of parents than with these (objectively unobjectionable) people, especially the dad in the “Love God, Serve God” t-shirt. Mostly because the kids were doing a truly shocking quantity of extra-curricular sporting activities, shuttling between scheduled matches as if trapped in permanent PE.
Anyway, this whole adventure concluded with baby’s official first birthday, so on our last day we had a wonderful family celebration to mark it! We cynically staged the opening of cards and presents outside in the garden, since we’re hardly going to get this kind of sunshine at home in October, before Randi made a baby-friendly vanilla cake and all the adults enjoyed an adult-friendly carrot cake. I’m pretty sure there’s a video of a one year old Randi devouring her own first birthday cake in almost exactly the same spot.
Many thanks to long-standing family hairdresser Raffi, who gave me a much-needed haircut before we hotfooted it back to the UK. (The birthday boy slept the entire way back, landed in the afternoon, and then slept the entire night through. The man in the row in front of us on the plane was gobsmacked.)
Side note: I haven’t flown on Virgin Atlantic for years, and was struck that while many things now feel a little tired and mediocre (with significantly worse meals than BA, surprisingly) it still remains true that all of the staff were exceptional at every stage, from check-in to the plane. You can really tell where the company’s priorities lie.
We arrived back on Friday evening, which was good timing because on Saturday night we had tickets to see the final two episodes of Jet Lag: Japanorama in the cinema with other hardcore Jet Lag fans. This was super fun – I especially loved the crowd’s reaction to Ben correctly predicting Adam’s horrified facial expressions – and a great way to experience such a gripping finale!
From the comfort of our own home Randi and I have also been enjoying the second season of Celebrity Traitors. This is the first Traitors series I’ve watched, and despite being advised that it’s a bit of an odd vintage (i.e. it’s really not typical for a contestant to immediately declare themselves a traitor, or to have so many reluctant traitors) I’m having a great time.
Randi and I are both a little stressed by watching people being forced to spin theories despite knowing that they don’t really have much to work with, though. Surely in the early stages of the game it might just be better to openly randomise your vote? It reminds me a little of when Randi was pregnant, and many people – including medical professionals – would ask us whether we thought we were having a girl or a boy. We refused to play, since – obviously – we had no more information than anyone else. (Randi: “…and this is why I’d find it too annoying to be a faithful”).
And finally, the main event this month: receiving Reema’s friendship anniversary postcard baby’s first birthday party! Massive thanks to Tash and Cormac for arriving early and putting in so much free labour while I nervously pushed his buggy around the neighbourhood to induce naptime and Randi put the finishing touches on her delicious cupcakes. We had so much fun celebrating with Carolyn, Maria, Kirsty, Roger, Matt, Laura, Angela, Kawthar – plus many kids! – and were spoiled with even more cards and presents.
Looking back, it’s strange how the newborn days are already receding into a blur; I definitely wouldn’t trust any parenting advice based on my memories at this point. But I know that we’re very lucky in many, many ways… not least because of all the love and support from everyone around us. Thanks, guys!
