Happy birthday to our baby boy, 18

EIGHTEEN years ago I had “clean out kitchen cupboards” at the top of my to-do list.

- @CeriGould

There were other vital chores to complete but it’s the cupboards that I remember most. The reason why they needed to pristine should be obvious - there was a baby coming and you know what babies are like about cleanliness.

Not our baby, though. It turned out our baby didn’t give two hoots about any of it. He arrived small, quiet and slightly yellow two weeks before he was expected, absolutely oblivious. It didn’t impede his arrival that the skirting boards needed dusting, clothes needed ironing and cupboards required clearing.

All of which is, I suppose, a way of explaining one of the many lessons which he’s taught me, which is not to sweat the small stuff. Cupboards don’t matter when you're suddenly responsible for keeping a small, grunty, little person alive.