Oliver Turns 12

My firstborn son, Oliver, turns a 12 years today! Just 1 year before the teens hit. Wild!

An old soul from birth, Oliver George Broadbent is one sweet, smart, resilient and oh-so serious young man: a second Daddy to his baby sister, Florence, and an ever-constant rock to me (particularly during my thryoid op recovery several years ago, a miscarriage and subsequent pregnancy).

Never one to refuse helping me around the house or with his baby sister, my appreciation for this sweet boy knows no bounds.

Florence was a dream come true for Oliver who had been campaigning to his Daddy to have another baby, for years. (I’ve been forever broody so there was no need to convince me!)

My heart melts when I see Oliver with Florence as he’s so incredibly confident and competent with her, holding, caring and feeding her with ease. When I was pregnant, he would often say he couldn’t wait to put the baby in a carrier on his chest and walk around with her. Bless that boy!

Oliver’s caring but no nonsense attitude makes him a steady anchor for this family, he’s the perfect leader cum protector of his younger siblings, and role model to his brother, Xander, who has always been besotted with him.

Cerebral with a passion for science and filmmaking in particular, if I’m honest, he’s taught me as much as I’ve taught him, especially when it comes to social media. One of his TikTok videos garnered 1/2 a million views last year, and the improptu, detailed lecture he gave me last year on space, blew my mind. Eloquent, insightful and ambitious he’s been talking about his Uni application for years. Told you he was born old!

…I’ve also loved seeing him grow in confidence thanks to national TV and radio appearances, where’s he’s spoken candidly and considerately on subjects spanning Brexit to the pandemic, and beyond.

Seeing the world through his inquisitive eyes and gaining his perspective on world issues, politics and science, is always thought-provoking. His outlook is equally eye-opening and reassuring. He’s one of life’s problem solvers and the kind of kid that will hopefully make a difference to this world.

So today feels a little bit momentous for me. I mean I can remember being 12 myself and Oliver’s birthday marks his twelfth year but also my own twelfth anniversary as a mum.

And now I’m a mother of three to a 9 and 2 month old too. I know how fast these precious years fly by so I’m trying my best to savour every moment (even the tough pre-teen hormonal ones where doors get slammed and I get shouted at).

Today I reflect on the years and how grateful I feel that this blog and my online career has enabled me to be present for my children and not miss out on special milestones. It’s because of Oliver I started this blog to begin with as I couldn’t bear to be apart from him directing on set. When the opportunity arose to monetise my work online, I embraced it wholeheartedly and never looked back.

My kids made me the mumboss I am today.

But today, nor this past weekend is about me. It’s dedicated to our special boy.

We celebrated Oliver with a trampolining party on Saturday with his pals then brunch on Sunday with the grandparents at his favourite cafe, Monty’s with well deserved presents he’d been wishing for all year.

Oh Oliver, we love you with all our hearts, thank you for being you and teaching and loving us so much. As Daddy says, you’re the original baby and we’re so thankful for you x