Our son Charlie was born on August 17th, 2016, at 8:43AM. As Peter placed him beside me I asked "Is he OK? Is he OK?" I made a comment about his nose, it being so much more petite than mine and Pete's. My next thoughts were about Aylan Kurdi, whose photo made headlines after he drowned crossing the Mediterranean with his family in search of a better, safer life. I couldn't remember his name in the post-op haze. "The boy, the boy in the news."  Aylan died nearly a year before my son was born. 

Charlie and I were wheeled out of theatre to find our family hoping to catch a glimpse of him as we passed through the waiting room. Huge smiles surrounded us. It didn't matter that we were from different countries, raised in different religions. (Malta, Pakistan, UK and USA; Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Baptist and Jewish). It only mattered that we were together to welcome a new baby into the world. In that waiting room, difference was celebrated because it brought us Charlie, yet outside, difference dominates political rhetoric as a corrupt excuse to justify conflict.

I am grateful for every moment of being Charlie's mum, (even the sleepless nights), and I mourn for the families who have been robbed of raising their children because of conflict. With this in mind,  I have decided to run the Malta Marathon on the 5th of March, and hope to reach (and surpass) my target 1708 Euros for UNICEF. 1708 is Charlie's birthday, it's also the date that five year old Omran was photographed in an ambulance in Aleppo. 

I think of the world Charlie has been born into, and I hope that rather than using difference as a scapegoat and as a form of scare-mongering, he will learn to appreciate it, and to have compassion for others. 

5th March seems far off, but I've already started training. Whilst I'm out running, Charlie updates his dad on his Mission Reports which I'll post from time to time when they let me in on what they get up to!

With that, I'm off for a run.

Thank you

Maria

Agent Charlie M // Mission Report // Dossier 3

Weapon Test: As I’m lying in my striped pajamas Bristly appears overhead.
‘Nee nar, nee nar,’ he says. ‘Nee nar.’
I blink up at him.
‘Poo Police,’ he says. ‘There’s been a report of an Incident.’
As he’s changing my nappy I yawn.
 ‘Oh you’re so cute…’ he says, and bends over to rub noses with me.
I let go. It wasn’t his best shirt, but it’ll do.

First Bath: I’m naked! Smooth lowers me into a plastic mouth and washes me with warm water. I’m naked! Heaven!

Body mass: I like being plump. My chins have increased to support my head and my limbs are chubby and pink. Sometimes they wave around.
‘It’s like he’s conducting an orchestra,’ says Bristly.
‘Look at those dimples!’ says Smooth.
There are ten worms at the end of my upper limbs. They taste good. Sometimes they wriggle. When I’m unhappy they scratch my face: I’m not sure what they’re for.

Velocity: I discover that Smooth is training to run 42 kilometers to help other Agents. I’m proud of her. I try to smile while she sings me Eurovision songs.

Nutrition: The Natives have put me in a bouncy chair while they eat fragrant steak.
Bristly: ‘He’s watching me’.
Smooth: ‘Come on, he can only see up to ten inches.’
Bristly: ‘I can’t eat while he’s watching me…’

Communication: My crying is improving. The Natives finished their steak in seven seconds. Record!

Sleep: At 3 am Bristly takes me over to a big window overlooking the harbour. As he looks out across the water with puffy eyes his voice is quiet and calm:
‘Charlie, this is called ‘night’.
He pauses.
‘It’s where people sleep.’
I realize that Bristly has ‘lost sleep’ and now he’s looking for it, in the harbour.

Mobility: Today I turned over for the first time. Soon I will be more powerful than they can possibly imagine.

Summary:

So far so good.

No one suspects I’m in charge.
 

Agent Charlie: Mission Report #2


Weapon-Testing. Today I peed on my face. Smooth Big Person cooed as she cleaned my eyes; she looked tired so I shouted at her.
Her training is going well.

Big Bristly Person laughed at Smooth Big Person. I waited for him to put on a new nappy before I fired off a torpedo. Smooth BP laughed; Bristly BP took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
His training is going well.

Health. My recent torpedoes have been green. As my body is small it can be painful expelling processed milk. Bristly looked at my face as I was straining and said, ‘Isn’t it amazing how babies look like Winston Churchill.’
One day I will vomit on his best shirt.

Moon-Feeding Clinic. Smooth and Bristly took me to a white building where Big People go to share diseases. When we reached the Moon-Feeding Clinic I saw other Agents being taken into a room, stripped and weighed.

Smooth sat with me in the clinic. I shouted at her and she gave me the Caramel Moon. At one point there were five fellow Agents drinking together. They were given Coconut Moons, Pink Moons and even a Midnight Moon.
No one shared.

Sleep: Nocturnal training continues. The more I wake the Big People at night, the more efficiently they function the next day. Enhanced abilities include driving to work and operating heavy machinery in an unconscious state.
I call this being ‘Wide Asleep.’

Dancing. This morning Bristly put me on his arm and danced to Blue Suede Shoes.
His rhythm was counter to that of the song. He sang, too. I cried.

Gambling. The Big People are teaching me to play poker. Bristly and Smooth deal me in and then assess at the end of the hand which of us has won. They only know Texas Hold ‘Em, their bluffing strategies are basic and they owe me 260 Euros.

Summary:

So far so good.

No one suspects I’m in charge.

Charlie: Mission Report #1

Brief: My Mission among the Big People is going well.
My arrival was smooth. Earlier than anticipated but I kept my cool.
My cuteness is intensifying.

Food: There’s a Caramel Moon which feeds me. When I’m hungry I can change my face from Little Angel to Purple-Cheeked Hunger Monster in seconds. I draw in breath and make soft little wheezing sounds, which enchants nearby Big People. If there are no nearby Big People I escalate my signal to screams.

The Big People only eat three times a day, which demonstrates their inferiority. I have decided to show them how to eat ten times a day.

I have gained 600 grams since my arrival.

Sleep: The Big People only sleep once a night. I am teaching them to sleep five times a night. The training is arduous, but in the long run they will benefit.

Contact: The Big People are well versed in the Galactic Language of Hugs. I like being stroked on the head, arms and cheek. I reward the Caramel Moon by patting her.

There is a Bristly Big Person who dances with me and plays me samples of Terrestrial Music. This afternoon Bristly Big Person held me up in the air and rotated me during the crescendo of Also Sprach Zaruthustra.
Afterwards he whispered, ‘One day you’ll understand.’

Recycling: My analysis of the Milk from Caramel Moon is encouraging. It is plentiful and highly nutritious, and beneficial to my immune system.

As a reward I convert the milk to a new element which the Big People wrap up and take away to their labs for further analysis. I make sure the Big People are aware of its importance by screaming during its manufacture, delivery and retrieval.

Cleaning: Outstanding. I have tried to reward Bristly Person with a sample from
The Golden Stream but my Distributor isn’t powerful enough. Yet.

Summary:

So far so good.

No one suspects I’m in charge.