Dear LittleDude,
This was the conversation we had on the way to school this morning.
Me: What are you going to do at school today, Bud?
You: Play blocks.
Me: What else?
You: Test a hypothesis.
Obviously, I am underestimating your curriculum at school. Or you're just watching a lot of Dinosaur Train.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Of Laughter
Dear Squeaky,
Today, you busted out with your very first full-fledge belly laugh. The trigger? A good morning hello from Mommy that came out sounding like a cross between Julia Child and Sesame Street's Grover. Go figure.
I love you.
Love,
Mommy
Today, you busted out with your very first full-fledge belly laugh. The trigger? A good morning hello from Mommy that came out sounding like a cross between Julia Child and Sesame Street's Grover. Go figure.
I love you.
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Of Brotherhood
Dear LittleDude,
Today you became a big brother. So far, you seem thoroughly unimpressed with your new baby brother and your new role in our family, but I know you will take to it in no time. The coming weeks, and maybe even months, will be hard. Daddy has to go on the airplane again, Mommy won't be able to give all the attention all the time, and I'm quite sure Squeaky won't be able to play trains the way you want him to -- not yet anyway. But, we will find our way together, as a family, and I know you'll be the best big brother ever, just as you are the best son any mother could ask for. And remember, no matter what, you will always be my baby.
I love you.
Love,
Mommy
Today you became a big brother. So far, you seem thoroughly unimpressed with your new baby brother and your new role in our family, but I know you will take to it in no time. The coming weeks, and maybe even months, will be hard. Daddy has to go on the airplane again, Mommy won't be able to give all the attention all the time, and I'm quite sure Squeaky won't be able to play trains the way you want him to -- not yet anyway. But, we will find our way together, as a family, and I know you'll be the best big brother ever, just as you are the best son any mother could ask for. And remember, no matter what, you will always be my baby.
I love you.
Love,
Mommy
Monday, February 4, 2013
Grace!
Dear LittleDude,
Lately, we've been working on routines, and one of the things we're trying to be more diligent about is saying Grace before each meal. However, each time we pause and say, "Okay, Toby, let's say Grace," you pipe up, "Grace!" and immediately start eating. We'll work on it.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Lately, we've been working on routines, and one of the things we're trying to be more diligent about is saying Grace before each meal. However, each time we pause and say, "Okay, Toby, let's say Grace," you pipe up, "Grace!" and immediately start eating. We'll work on it.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Pay It Forward
Dear LittleDude,
Every once in awhile, I like to do something nice for someone else for no reason. Often, as it did one day last week during one of our daily trips through the McDonald's drive-through for after school ice cream, that involves paying for someone else's order. Today, someone who witnessed that act last week had the opportunity to tell me that the gesture continued to be passed on through over a dozen cars until no one was left in line.
Sometimes, we're tempted to put off small acts of kindness because we feel they are unappreciated or unnoticed. However, remember that even the smallest acts can make a huge difference whether we see it or not, and you will always be a better person for opening your heart and giving kindness than for closing it and keeping to yourself.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Every once in awhile, I like to do something nice for someone else for no reason. Often, as it did one day last week during one of our daily trips through the McDonald's drive-through for after school ice cream, that involves paying for someone else's order. Today, someone who witnessed that act last week had the opportunity to tell me that the gesture continued to be passed on through over a dozen cars until no one was left in line.
Sometimes, we're tempted to put off small acts of kindness because we feel they are unappreciated or unnoticed. However, remember that even the smallest acts can make a huge difference whether we see it or not, and you will always be a better person for opening your heart and giving kindness than for closing it and keeping to yourself.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Monday, December 3, 2012
On Charity
Dear LittleDude,
The other day, while you were at school, I was out running errands when a man knocked on my car window, told me a story about why he needed money, and asked if I had any to spare. There was a time when -- even though I was chowing down on my McDonald's drive-through breakfast with a few dollars clearly visible in the car's cup holder -- I might have claimed I had nothing to spare. But that was before an acquaintance said something in passing that really hit home, and that thing made me reconsider.
As you grow up, you'll encounter a lot of people who aren't as fortunate as you are. Sometimes, it'll be obvious, as with the homeless man on the street corner. Other times, it'll be less obvious, as with a friend you don't realize is going hungry at home in order to keep up some appearance of normalcy outside the home. And unfortunately, there will be many times in which appearances are deceiving. Too often, people let the fear of directing charity toward those who don't truly need it -- those who are working the system in some way to take advantage of others' generosity -- as an excuse not to help. I understand that. I've been one of those people, someone who found it easier to convince myself that the person on the street corner was a scammer or an addict than to face the other options that ranged from the possibility of my own selfishness to ignorance to guilt for being unable to help, all at various times. But the truth is that if someone is asking for assistance but not does not truly need it, that is on their conscience. For that, they will one day be judged. What is on your conscience is how you respond. You can do nothing wrong by being trusting and kindhearted enough to give them the benefit of the doubt and help in whatever way you can. For that, you will one day be judged.
And that is why I gave the man in the parking lot the $3 in cash I had -- because I want you to grow up knowing that helping is the right thing to do, even if the person asking for help might not really need it.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
The other day, while you were at school, I was out running errands when a man knocked on my car window, told me a story about why he needed money, and asked if I had any to spare. There was a time when -- even though I was chowing down on my McDonald's drive-through breakfast with a few dollars clearly visible in the car's cup holder -- I might have claimed I had nothing to spare. But that was before an acquaintance said something in passing that really hit home, and that thing made me reconsider.
As you grow up, you'll encounter a lot of people who aren't as fortunate as you are. Sometimes, it'll be obvious, as with the homeless man on the street corner. Other times, it'll be less obvious, as with a friend you don't realize is going hungry at home in order to keep up some appearance of normalcy outside the home. And unfortunately, there will be many times in which appearances are deceiving. Too often, people let the fear of directing charity toward those who don't truly need it -- those who are working the system in some way to take advantage of others' generosity -- as an excuse not to help. I understand that. I've been one of those people, someone who found it easier to convince myself that the person on the street corner was a scammer or an addict than to face the other options that ranged from the possibility of my own selfishness to ignorance to guilt for being unable to help, all at various times. But the truth is that if someone is asking for assistance but not does not truly need it, that is on their conscience. For that, they will one day be judged. What is on your conscience is how you respond. You can do nothing wrong by being trusting and kindhearted enough to give them the benefit of the doubt and help in whatever way you can. For that, you will one day be judged.
And that is why I gave the man in the parking lot the $3 in cash I had -- because I want you to grow up knowing that helping is the right thing to do, even if the person asking for help might not really need it.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
To Be With Jesus
Dear LittleDude,
Today has been a very hard day. Your great-aunt G has been very, very sick for a long time. She has a really bad disease called cancer, and today, we found out there is nothing more the doctors can do to help her get better. So now we have to call in different doctors, the ones whose job it is just to help her feel as good as she can until she gets to go meet Jesus.
Right now, you’re far too little to understand that someone we all love may be leaving us soon and that we won’t see her until we can go see Jesus ourselves. One day not too far from now, you may wonder why we don’t all rush to go see Jesus if it means we can be with Him and all the people we miss so much. Sometimes, I still wonder that myself, and I’ve had a few more years to think about it. All I can tell you is that as wonderful as it will be when we do go see Jesus and all the people we love, it’s also wonderful being down here on Earth, doing all the things Jesus wants us to do -- even if we sometimes struggle with those things. So, we kind of get two lives: a short one down here, and then, if we’re really good and ask Jesus to help us, a really really really really long one up there where we have no struggles or worries and just have Jesus and all the people we love.
A long time from now (at least I hope it’s a long time from now), there will be other times when you will have to say goodbye to people you love. It might be me or Daddy or PawPaw or Gammoo or Tractor or anyone else you love. It might happen so quickly that you don’t get a chance to say “I love you” or “Goodbye.” It might happen slowly, allowing you the chance to say those things. Some of the people you have to say goodbye might not be ready to go. Some might. But always know that after they go, they will be happy, they will be with Jesus, they will always watch over you, and they are waiting for the day -- a day a long, long time from now -- that they will see you again.
I love you.
Love, Mommy
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