- What is your favorite color? red
- What is your favorite toy? Don't know
- What is your favorite fruit? mango
- What is your favorite TV show? Phineas and Ferb
- What do you like to eat for lunch? Sandwiches
- What is your favorite outfit? I don't have one
- What is your favorite sport? karate
- What is your favorite snack? Sun chips
- What is your favorite animal? penguin
- What is your favorite song? Southern Nights by Glen Campbell
- What is your favorite book? The Bridge Home
- Who is your best friend? [M] and Sunshine
- What is your favorite cereal? peach oatmeal
- What do you like to do outside? practice karate
- What is your favorite drink? water
- What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
- What do you sleep with at night? Nothing
- What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? oatmeal
- What do you want for your birthday dinner? Shrimp
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My Sweet Monster,
I’ve been trying to write this letter for a while, but I seem to be lacking the words. I guess I’ll start with Happy Birthday! It does not feel like 17 years have passed since you were born. You are still my sweet baby. I’m so very proud of you and all you have accomplished. I was so worried that you wouldn’t get involved in high school and would be lonely, but you are far from that. Next year, you will have leadership positions in three clubs as well as being involved in at least 3 more. I know you’re a bit nervous about how some of the classes next year are shaking out, but it’s only 36 weeks. Then, you will be off to college. This past year has been full of accomplishments. I could not be prouder of you. I know that the accomplishment you are most proud of is your third degree black belt. When you started this karate journey 9 years ago, I was so nervous. Would you listen? Would you like it? Would you remember everything? It turns out this was your thing and it’s become one of your passions. I love that you have had the opportunity to work in a job that you are passionate about. Most people don’t get that as their first job. This next year is going to be a rough one for me. I still see you as my little baby who needs his mommy. Yet you are on the cusp of adulthood and ready to be completely independent. I hope I have taught you the skills you need to be out on your own. This summer is going to be a lot of life skill training just to make sure! I’m sad that I will not get to celebrate your birthday with you and your friends, but I’m so happy for you that you get this time to relax and have fun! Have the best time tonight! Happy Birthday, Little Man. I love you more than you will ever know. Love, Mommy
Dear Sunshine,
This year, Daddy wanted to write your letter. Love you. Always. Mommy Dear [Sunshine], Today, you are 14. You are growing up so fast and in such a complicated world. I know you are trying to navigate your family, friends, school, and activities. Sometimes you will make mistakes and need some help. We are here if you need us. All of these things will get harder. You will need to use your heart and try to decide what you need instead of what you want others to think. Life gets so much easier when you learn this. People learn to trust you because you are an amazing person. I have never met anyone so full of life when you are here. You can be so happy that everyone around cannot help but to be happy, too. It is like your superpower that you have always had. Next year it is off to High School. You can do this. Let the people who care about you help you. Mommy, Daddy, [Monster], and your friends can help you with school work, and social challenges. Remember to be kind because all of those other kids are going through the same things. I know birthdays have changed. Parties and cake have given way to hanging with your friends. That’s OK. Just remember that we love you, and want to be with you. We can still see that happy little girl that played soccer in a fancy dress in the mud. I love you, Daddy Dear Monster,
Today, you are 16. No one warns you how fast the years go. It’s hard for me to believe that you are 16 because when I look at you, I still see my little baby boy with the chubby cheeks and serious expression. I can not begin to tell you how proud I am of you. You are an amazing young man. You have overcome so much in your life and are so strong. You persevered when school was difficult. If only those teachers could see you now. It only took the kindness of a few teachers to break you out of your shell and point you in the right direction, and look at you now! Teachers count on you because of how responsible and polite you are. You are an amazing writer, which we thought would never happen. You have always had a thirst for knowledge, but it wasn’t until some very special teachers took their time to show you what to do with that knowledge, that you actually flourished. And you haven’t stopped flourishing. You approach all learning with a passion. Even when the material is hard or boring, you dig in and soak it all up. You work hard and it pays of. Not only do you excel in school, but you have a kind heart and try to do good. You are always there to lend a hand when needed. Yes, sometimes we have to yell at you to get off your computer to come lend that hand, but you almost always do so without argument. It makes me so happy that you have a job that you love. This year was tough with your course load interfering with how much you could get to karate, but next year will be better and you’ll be back to doing more of what you love next week. It’s so much fun listening to you talk about your students and what they are doing and how they are progressing. I love the joy it brings you when you’re testing kids for their next belt. It is rare to find something that you get paid to do that you also have so much passion for. I hope you continue to find that in whatever career you choose. It’s hard for me to believe that you’ll be driving on your own soon. I remember the first time I got into the car with you. It took 10 years off my life. You were supposed to just slowly pull the car about 6 feet forward. You ended up going diagonally across the driveway at the highest rate of speed possible. I thought for sure I’d never be able to get in the car with you again. However, with practice, you’ve become a very good driver and I’m so proud of you. You’ve now driven in all sorts of conditions, even when you were nervous and didn’t want to do it. I’m sorry that the pandemic has caused such a backlog in driver’s ed that you won’t be getting your license today, but you’ll have it before you know it, and then I’ll have a whole set of new worries! You’re doing great job! I know losing Grandpa has been hard for you. Harder than you let on. You were so special to him. Don’t ever forget that. I know that you cherish the time you were able to spend with him. Those are memories that will help you when you’re missing him. I know you’re trying to still be strong for Daddy, but you are allowed to feel. You’re allowed to lean on me. I’m always here to listen if you want to talk, or if you don’t. I know birthdays have changed a lot over the years. They are harder to be just about you when you get older. Today, you have 3 finals and your sister has soccer practice AND a softball game. Having a birthday at the end of the busiest month of the year has been tough, but you never get upset about it and are just grateful to have your family with you and celebrate when we can. I promise that we’ll celebrate like Grandpa would….birthday week! I hope you have the best day ever. You deserve it to be wonderful! I love you with all my heart. Mommy
My Sweet Sunshine,
You are officially a teenager. Unofficially, you have been a teen since about 2! You have always had a mind of your own and know what you like and what you don’t. You are my fearless, adventurous kid who is willing to try anything at least once. You don’t need friends to join something, you do it because you want to and you end up making friends along the way. This year hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. We’ve had to find our footing as a family navigating giving you the freedom you need while still giving you boundaries. I am thankful that we have such open communication. You can come to me (or your father or brother) with anything. We will always be here to listen. Giving you room to grow means that you will work out your own problems, and you’re all for that. Hopefully you know that if you need us to step in, we will. It’s a real sign of maturity when you don’t have your parents fight your battles and you take care of your own issues. You’ve always been good at this. I don’t think we tell you enough how proud we are of that. This coming year is already off to an amazing start! You go to States for Power of the Pen in a month. You start Pointe in June. You’ve achieved straight A+’s for the first three quarters of school while taking two honors classes, 2 dance classes, student teaching a dance class, being in Student Council, NJHS, Power of the Pen, Ensemble, soccer, and skiing. Next month or two, we add softball and tennis to the mix. I’m proud of you for always doing your best and making sure once you commit to something, you follow through. My wish for you for this year is that you could see yourself through my eyes. You are so critical of yourself. You don’t ever give yourself enough credit. You also don’t give yourself enough grace. You are exceptional. I need you to be able to see that. I can not wait to see what this year holds for you. Whatever it is, you’ll meet it with the same fierce and determined attitude you always do. I’m so proud to be your Mommy. Happy Birthday, my sweet Baby Boo. Love you. Always. Mom
Dear Monster,
Happy Birthday! I am so very, very proud of the young man you are growing into. No matter how old you get, though, you will always be my baby! I just need to remember to stop treating you like one. I promise that I’m working on it! This year has been an amazing one with you. I am so very grateful for all of the time COVID gave us. I honestly don’t know of any other teenage boys who would take daily walks with their mom and chat about all of the diverse topics we chatted about. When you went back to school full time in February, not getting to walk and talk with you was tough for me. I am so very thankful that on days off, you still like to do this. I feel that, through these walks, I’ve gotten to know you better as a person, not just my son. I truly like the person that you are. You are so insightful and wise beyond your years. You also have a great sense of humor. I wish more people would go beyond your quiet exterior to get to the real you. You have accomplished so much this year. You completed your first year of high school under very weird circumstances. Not only did you make it through, but you thrived. Your study habits have gotten much better. Your writing has gotten more refined. You also branched out of your comfort zone and joined Latin Club and Book Club. You took the initiative to reach out to teachers you didn’t know to get more information on other clubs that were unfortunately cancelled due to COVID, just to let them know you are interested for next year. I am so excited for you that you were able to take an elective this year that sparked a fire in you for your future and are continuing to build upon that with not one, but two AP courses in that area next year. I am so proud that you were pushed out of your comfort zone and had the courage to sing AND dance on stage this year and will be performing at the Memorial Day celebration, even though singing in public isn’t really your thing. Your courage and strength are inspiring. This year did bring about the added benefit of not just one, but two, additional black belt levels for you. Now, a short year later, you’re a second degree black belt. That takes a lot of dedication to be able to test twice in less than the span of a calendar year. Your father and I are so proud of the passion you have for karate (we wish you’d put that same passion into cleaning your room, but that’s a topic for another time ;) ). I am so proud that, when you were finally able to because of age and COVID, you took on the role of instructor. It’s wonderful to see you do what you’re passionate about. I know things still aren’t “normal”, but I promise, they’re getting there. This winter, you continued with learning to snowboard. You gave in and let someone help you. Because of that, you were exposed to a whole new level of snowboarding and gained the confidence needed to head down the black diamonds. By the end of the season, you had found a passion and learned just how much fun you could have. This coming year is going to be a big one in teaching me to let go. Please be patient with me. I’m not ready to let go of my baby, but I’m really trying. I may still hover at times and bug you, but that’s also my job. I do promise to let you test out those wings of yours, though, so you can soar to brand new heights. I love you with all of my heart. Mommy |
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