Funerals

As I have said in previous posts, Kieron was exceptionally close to my Dad, so when his Grandad died Kieron was devastated. I decided that at less than 4 years old he was too young to go to the funeral. My childminder looked after Kieron then my best friend picked him up and brought him back for 'Grandad's party'. Kieron was loving and concerned throughout and we spoke a lot about his Grandad and I gave Kieron all my Dad's vintage handtools although we agreed that I would look after them until he was older. What I did allow was for Kieron to come on the Dover-Calais ferry with me to throw my Dad's ashes over the side as my Dad was frequently going to France and I knew he wanted his ashes disposed of in this way. I felt that this was a way for Kieron to say Goodbye and he was brilliant. He clutched a single red rose and then threw it in the sea on my command. I also took some of my Dad's first hair cut to Latvia and threw it into a river in Riga as he had been born there. A fact that fascinates Kieron and he is  proud of his mixed heritage.
                 

       
When my mum died, Kieron was even more supportive. A little boy has absolutely no idea of the power he wields when he spontaneously hugs and Kieron did this frequently. Again, I felt that Kieron was too young to go to the funeral as he was only 6 1/2 so he stayed at home with an elderly relative and was present throughout 'Nanny's party'.

Kieron became very aware that he now had no Grandparents as there has been no contact with anyone on his birth father's side since Kieron was 1 year old. We spend many hours talking about Nanny and Grandad, with me telling him anecdotes of how my parents were when I was a child.

I used to hope that I would live to a ripe old age, so that none of my children would still be young and vulnerable when it's my time to go. I didn't like the thought of Kieron as a child going to a funeral.

He did though, didn't he.

Cars

Like most boys, Kieron likes cars. Not just any cars, but the muscle cars on Top Gear: Aston Martin Vantage springs to mind. All the cars Kieron wants are either black, red or silver.

When my dad was still alive and would babysit Kieron, he sat him on his lap in his car and Kieron 'drove' it. He shared his car books with Kieron and when my dad died, I gave Kieron all of my dads books on cars, boats, steam trains and the like. Kieron valued these even though he was too young to have started reading, but he still talked me through the various cars etc in the books. They took pride of place in his room and many of them are still there now.

Early 2010 I decided that my aging Mondeo wouldn't last much longer so I started looking for a replacement.

I decided that I wanted a Puma. I took Jade and Kieron with me when I went to test drive it. We had a bit of a drive to get to the dealer and before we arrived, Kieron was fast asleep, so Jade sat in my car with him while I took the Puma out. I decided against it and was in my car and halfway home before Kieron woke up, demanding to know if we were nearly at the garage as he wanted to see the car.

 I then fell for a yellow Saab convertible, much to the disgust of all the kids. I thought it was gorgeous but Kieron especially was horrified. It was 'gay', it was 'ugly', it was 'YELLOW'!!!

So I reluctantly admitted defeat, without telling him that the boot was too small anyway as throughout summer I carry all the beach stuff in my boot and there was no chance of fitting all our holiday luggage in either.

Kieron also likes BMWs. The fact that Jade's boyfriends really likes them and has had 3 in the time he's been with Jade comes as no surprise. Jade and Mike often took Kieron out with them until Kieron moaned that Mike drives too fast and he doesn't like going over the bumps. As Mike's cars are usually old enough too be classed as classics, they don't have much suspension, so Kieron bumped about on the back seat.

I've still got my old Mondeo and have no intention of replacing it now until it falls apart. It has Kieron's muddy footprints on the back of the front seats and juice stains on the back seats. Fingerprint marks from pictures drawn on the back windows when they're misted up are still there. how can I NOT keep it?

Absent sister

Kieron's big sister is going on holiday tomorrow  with her boyfriend and his family. The first time Jade and Mike went abroad together was to Tunisia in 2008. I was constantly worried about them as Jade is blonde, blue-eyed and beautiful. Perfect for a kidnapping by an Arab Sheikh. Or so Kieron and I convinced ourselves. Kieron kept phoning Jade to make sure she was ok and to tell her that he was missing her. In the end, she text me to tell him to stop as not only was he using all his credit, but she was getting charged too.
We compromised. I rang Jade and Kieron would talk very briefly each night. His excitement and delight at her homecoming was a joy to see. I can't remember what gifts Jade brought back for Kieron, but they would have involved sweets of some description.
In 2009, Jade and Mike went to Paris for her 20th birthday. Yet again Kieron was worried about her. They had to come back a day early as there was a general strike and they were worried that the Eurotunnel would cancel its service, so when I told Kieron after school that day that they were on their way home early, he grinned with delight at the thought of seeing her sooner than expected.
So tomorrow, Kieron will be counting the days until Jade gets back, as will I. Only this time the difference is that instead of coming home to two brothers, Jade will be coming back to one.