Martin is our firstborn, our gentle lion and golden child.
Martin was born on April 26th 2012. To say he was beautiful would be a massive understatement. He started life how he ended it, by terrifying his parents. He had a seizure when we had just gotten him home from hospital and we thought we were going to lose him. I think we knew from that day that being a parent was going to be difficult.
After a year of medicine and checkups he was given the all clear and he went from strength to strength. Martin lived his life in absolute love, laughter and joy. He was a happy, caring and giving boy. He was a great cuddler and most nights fell asleep in our arms before bed (which was heaven). To know Martin was to love him.
When his sister, Ella, arrived a year later, he was excited and loved her from the moment he first saw her. They became inseparable – perfect partners and as she grew, he became the best big brother. He would constantly bring her toys and loved being with her. When she started to move around and walk, he would follow her and keep an eye on her. When she started taking his toys, he would always gladly give them up without a fight.
Martin was (and is) electric and would always be up to something, so we had to watch him constantly. When he joined playschool, the teachers fell in love with him and him with them. He was a people person and always managed to find a friend in a room, even when he was only four. He loved to rip his shirt off and dance in public. His smile brought us to tears and his voice still runs through our minds each and every day. He ran everywhere and struggled to sit still. Even though it was exhausting at the time, looking back now it was like he knew something we didn’t – life is short. Something we all should remember.
One of our favorite memories of Martin was when we were dropping Marty’s parents off at the airport. Marty was checking his parents in for the flight when the fire alarm goes off in the entire terminal. After a quick look around, it didn’t seem like there was any panic, so Marty came over to us when Martin had just arrived back. We could tell by his face that he knew he had done something and he quickly admitted to pulling the alarm. We told security but the fire trucks had already been called. Marty told him that there was a chance he was going to jail to make sure the gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on him. When the firemen arrived, they started high fiving Martin and gave him stickers and a fireman helmet because he had gotten them out of a boring training session. They were delighted to get a break and Martin was absolutely thrilled. So much for our teachable moment.
Martin is a constant reminder of what love looks like and how we want to live our lives. Martin made us better people and we strive to make him proud every day. When he left us it seemed like life would just stop as nothing could ever be the same again. We also quickly understood that falling apart would be the greatest injustice we could do to his memory. We are so blessed to have had Martin for the time we did and we hope that giving these gifts in his memory will make him smile. Our family chooses to celebrate Martin each day. We choose love over anger and resentment because he taught us how to love. We hope that Martin’s story can teach others about love and joy.
We love you to the moon and back, Martin.