On Tuesday night we went to prize-giving at No 1 Son’s school. It was wonderful to see the expressions of bashful pride on the boys faces as they left the stage clutching envelopes and trophies, and we were thrilled our boy was given the English prize, although typically he tried to shrug it off.
If you’ve ever seen the film The Sixth Sense, you’ll know there’s a scene where Toni Collette asks her dead mother, via her son who can see dead people (Hayley Joel Osment), if she made her proud. The reply is ‘every day.’ I think most of parents can identify with that emotion.
We’re proud of their first smile and laugh, their first poo in a potty, their first steps. Feeling your heart swell as they achieve something – however small – is something that never goes away.
So although he’ll be embarrassed, I just want to tell my boy that I am proud of him, every day.
(This is one of my favourite photos of the two of us – it’s so dog-eared because I used to carry it in my wallet until I became afraid of it falling apart altogether. And yes, my hair was brown and short in this picture. Disaster.)