A letter to Garett on his 5th birthday
I may not be around tomorrow to blog, so I will hammer this out now while I ugly cry at my desk.
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My dearest Garett,
Today you are five.
FIVE.
I cannot remember what life was like before you were born, and never for another second in this life do I want to know. When you came into my world, you took up more space in my heart than I thought was physically/emotionally possible. You and your sister ARE my heart. So today, I want to celebrate you. To celebrate the amazing person you are turning into, and to quiet my fears/worry about what the future holds for just one day each year.
You are such an independent, strong soul. Sometimes I have to stop myself, and take a step back and just recognize you are just four--now five. You have such an understanding on life, and have interests that most children your age do not have. I take pride in the fact that I work hard to always introduce you to new things. That you have a deeper understanding of certain things because of that first hand knowledge. You are a sponge, and just soak up every moment of it! Visiting museums/Aquatarium/zoos/farms to learn about where your food comes from and the history behind EVERYTHING, helping me with grocery shopping/learning about money, watching sports, and playing sports (swimming, skating, basketball, karate), listening to music--the classics--and getting an appreciation for it; followed by your innate desire to play--not so much sing (your guitar, drum set, our piano, dancing, your accordion and recorder. Maracas, cymbals, everything you can get your hands on!).
Your favourite task around the house is to help with cooking/baking. Which takes extra time for me, but I love having you in the kitchen with me! And if you ever get a 5 diamond restaurant, I'll be the first one there, waiting to enjoy every bite, as eagerly as you enjoy each bite from something we made together.
You ALWAYS want me to write out math problems to solve, do homework pages in your work books, and never say no to science. You have very strong opinions about the clothing you wear (Underarmour, Nike, Adidas, Reebok are all approved brands, but will wear anything as long as you like the colours).
You say Green is your favourite colour, but I am almost certain it's actually Red. You love date days with mommy, but you also LOVE your days exploring the city with daddy. The library is one of your favourite places (just like it used to be mine!)-- you love returning books and exploring to find new ones, playing on their little computer, with their activity centers and LOVE when we show up and there is an event (especially if cake is involved). You know words that I'm fairly certain I didn't know until I was 10, and the way you speak is so eloquent and full of life, that it takes all of my strength just to stop myself from scooping you up and holding you close forever.
You are the sweetest big brother. You always compete to get Keira to stop crying first if she is sad or hurt. You are always pushing your sister around in her toys when she insists "GAW-ETT!!! (Garett) WIDE!!!(ride)" , even if she's said it a hundred times in a row. You show patience, and nurturing and love and kindness in ways I did not believe possible for someone of your age. I cannot believe how many months I spent worrying that you would feel left out, or unloved/forgotten while I was pregnant for your sister. Those worries seem silly to me now, watching how you are with her. The second you see her after a school day, you run to hug and kiss her and say "Hi my little Kooks" and she laughs and laughs and hugs you from behind, and you laugh and say she is being "my shadow" again. Please never let this love die. Always take care of her, always look after each other and be each others "person", even long after I am gone. No...ESPECIALLY after I am gone.
You love school, and how you have discovered that you get to learn through play there as well. You made friends with every single one of the 46 kindergarteners in your school--even the ones we thought were going to be an issue. This just solidifies the fact that, to know you is to love you.
You excel in everything you try, though you get frustrated by the limitations you encounter by being a 50 year old man stuck inside a five year olds body. Practice makes perfect, buddy, in everything. And anything that isn't hard, isn't worth doing or fighting for. If something is hard, I want you to take it as a challenge. Dare yourself to do it. Dare yourself to be great. Dare yourself to change the world. Because I know, deep in my soul, that you are it. You will do something wonderful. Maybe you won't change the lives of 6 billion people, but you certainly have the power, the mind, the spirit to change a few in big ways, and if you need me, I'll be here, waiting with open arms, forever and for always.
Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.
I love you to infinity and way, way, way beyond.
****************
My dearest Garett,
Today you are five.
FIVE.
I cannot remember what life was like before you were born, and never for another second in this life do I want to know. When you came into my world, you took up more space in my heart than I thought was physically/emotionally possible. You and your sister ARE my heart. So today, I want to celebrate you. To celebrate the amazing person you are turning into, and to quiet my fears/worry about what the future holds for just one day each year.
You are such an independent, strong soul. Sometimes I have to stop myself, and take a step back and just recognize you are just four--now five. You have such an understanding on life, and have interests that most children your age do not have. I take pride in the fact that I work hard to always introduce you to new things. That you have a deeper understanding of certain things because of that first hand knowledge. You are a sponge, and just soak up every moment of it! Visiting museums/Aquatarium/zoos/farms to learn about where your food comes from and the history behind EVERYTHING, helping me with grocery shopping/learning about money, watching sports, and playing sports (swimming, skating, basketball, karate), listening to music--the classics--and getting an appreciation for it; followed by your innate desire to play--not so much sing (your guitar, drum set, our piano, dancing, your accordion and recorder. Maracas, cymbals, everything you can get your hands on!).
Your favourite task around the house is to help with cooking/baking. Which takes extra time for me, but I love having you in the kitchen with me! And if you ever get a 5 diamond restaurant, I'll be the first one there, waiting to enjoy every bite, as eagerly as you enjoy each bite from something we made together.
You ALWAYS want me to write out math problems to solve, do homework pages in your work books, and never say no to science. You have very strong opinions about the clothing you wear (Underarmour, Nike, Adidas, Reebok are all approved brands, but will wear anything as long as you like the colours).
You say Green is your favourite colour, but I am almost certain it's actually Red. You love date days with mommy, but you also LOVE your days exploring the city with daddy. The library is one of your favourite places (just like it used to be mine!)-- you love returning books and exploring to find new ones, playing on their little computer, with their activity centers and LOVE when we show up and there is an event (especially if cake is involved). You know words that I'm fairly certain I didn't know until I was 10, and the way you speak is so eloquent and full of life, that it takes all of my strength just to stop myself from scooping you up and holding you close forever.
You are the sweetest big brother. You always compete to get Keira to stop crying first if she is sad or hurt. You are always pushing your sister around in her toys when she insists "GAW-ETT!!! (Garett) WIDE!!!(ride)" , even if she's said it a hundred times in a row. You show patience, and nurturing and love and kindness in ways I did not believe possible for someone of your age. I cannot believe how many months I spent worrying that you would feel left out, or unloved/forgotten while I was pregnant for your sister. Those worries seem silly to me now, watching how you are with her. The second you see her after a school day, you run to hug and kiss her and say "Hi my little Kooks" and she laughs and laughs and hugs you from behind, and you laugh and say she is being "my shadow" again. Please never let this love die. Always take care of her, always look after each other and be each others "person", even long after I am gone. No...ESPECIALLY after I am gone.
You love school, and how you have discovered that you get to learn through play there as well. You made friends with every single one of the 46 kindergarteners in your school--even the ones we thought were going to be an issue. This just solidifies the fact that, to know you is to love you.
You excel in everything you try, though you get frustrated by the limitations you encounter by being a 50 year old man stuck inside a five year olds body. Practice makes perfect, buddy, in everything. And anything that isn't hard, isn't worth doing or fighting for. If something is hard, I want you to take it as a challenge. Dare yourself to do it. Dare yourself to be great. Dare yourself to change the world. Because I know, deep in my soul, that you are it. You will do something wonderful. Maybe you won't change the lives of 6 billion people, but you certainly have the power, the mind, the spirit to change a few in big ways, and if you need me, I'll be here, waiting with open arms, forever and for always.
Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.
I love you to infinity and way, way, way beyond.
AWW! Happy 5th Birthday Garett!
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