Days Like This

Rebekah Hargreaves

When people ask me what's was the best day of my life so far I always reply the 3rd of July 1999. This was the day my younger brother was born and every time I tell someone that they often give me an odd look. I argue a bit with my brother but according to Mum who has a brother and a sister, I get on brilliantly with him. I remember what happened like it was yesterday.

Mum and Dad had gone to the hospital on the 2nd of July leaving me with Gran. It was a warm, balmy evening and I was playing with my Brio train-set. I sat on the floor having a huge train disaster and I only looked up once. To be honest I didn't really notice that they had left.

The next morning I bumped down the stairs and ran through the dark living room into the kitchen where Dad swooped down on me and swung me round, with a big grin on his face. I remember thinking he looked odd without his glasses. Then still holding me about 50cm off the ground, Dad told me I had a younger brother who had been called Thomas after my Mum's best friend's maiden name. He told me that I had the privilege of choosing his middle name out of Kenneth or James. I chose Kenneth although I think it was because I had only heard that name, as I was half asleep at the time.

We travelled to Dumfries in the old red Rover 200 and when we got to the Cresswell maternity hospital which is now part of a housing estate which stood on the hill on the south side of Dumfries I ran up the long white corridor yelling, "I want Thomas!" over and over again. I was running so fast I ran past the ward door and Dad had to call me back, twice. That first glimpse of Tom was enough to persuade me that I didn't want a sister after all. He was all red faced from crying but when he saw me he suddenly stopped screaming and just stared at me. Then Mum offered to get him out of the cot and let me hold him while sitting on the bed. After holding him I put him on the bed and lay down next to him. Most experts say that babies don't smile till three weeks but my baby brother proved them wrong. As I was grinning at him he all of a sudden started smiling and there was a tiny look in his eye that seemed to say "We're going to make these adults lives difficult."

I didn't want to leave but Mum asked me to get Tom a sleepsuit and I was so eager to get it I went running off to the car. We went to the Boots in the town centre and I chose a cream sleepsuit with Tigger on it. We then went to a supermarket, I think it might have been Safeway and while dad went to find something and Gran's back was turned I ran off. Dad ended up standing at the door in case I went back to the car and Gran searched the whole store for me. She eventually found me in the baby area, which, giving the fact I had a new baby brother was one of the most obvious places to look, after the food areas.

I went back to the hospital and presented the sleepsuit to Mum and we had another half hour with my baby brother and then on the car journey home all I could talk about was my new baby brother.

Lots of time has passed since then and even though he's changed a lot I always think of him as my tiny baby brother.