Dear Son,

[A bloggy friend of my dear bride is having a contest for writing a letter to one of your kids. Not being the immensely-verbal type, I guess it's fitting for me to use this opportunity to express some gratitute to my son for the great job he's done raising me.]

I can't believe you've already been with us for a full decade! Looking back at your baby pictures has an out-of-body experience feel to it, and yet those days seem so recent as well.

You can probably recall many aspects of your own life, as you saw them through your own eyes, as you felt them with your own heart. Maybe they're similar to the ways I remember them too. Maybe not. Oh well...every child is destined to have parents whose memory didn't latch onto the same key childhood events yours did.

But I do hope you'll remember some of those key parenthood events that have defining places in my thoughts.

Like when you...

- Helped me develop a stronger stomach (learning to change CLOTH diapers)
- Spent one-on-one time with me while Mommy waitressed (thanks for sharing your puréed sweet potatoes and carrots too!)
- Took me on our first camping trip at Pax River Naval Air Station ("It's 5 A.M. Lay down and GO TO SLEEP!")
- Fine-tuned my soccer coaching skills with several of your 8/9-year old friends
- Taught me to ride a bike...


- Forgave me all of those times when I set a bad example for you, and had enough brain cells operating to recognize and admit it
- Helped me realize how important it is to consistently pray and read the Bible, and to be a good example of a husband and father

Wow! Thanks to you, I've really grown and matured over the past ten years.


I love you, son. You're doing a great job raising me so far. I hope you'll stick it out with me, 'cause I know I have a long way to go...

Love,
Dad