Missives - Independence

Dear Son

When did you get so big. Some days I wonder if it was a good idea to let you be adventurous and independent. You may be only two, but you haven't figured that out yet. The world would tell you that you couldn't do anything at your age, but you insist that you want to do things yourself. Last night, you decided to treat your own diaper rash. It was pretty bad so you took your diaper off and started rubbing in the Desetin. You mostly got it in the right places, except for that big white spot on the floor that won't come up. I have to admit that I was mad at first, but then I realized you weren't just playing around, you were trying to help yourself and learn. I have to apologize.

Then there are the times when you take the lid off your sippy cup and fill it with water. You don't even ask for help anymore. Then you take the lid off to get the last bit of juice almost like you didn't need the lid anyway. You really can do things for yourself. I just miss being able to help you and take care of everything for you.

So many people in this world don't want you to succeed. They want to stop you from progressing, but you need to stand up and keep going. Their jealous that you have such a drive to succeed. Some look at you and think you're too small. Others just worry that you'll hurt too much if you fail. That strong will and independant attitude will take you far in life.

Remeber failure is not a bad thing, its a chance to grow. When you first wanted to crawl, you couldn't figure it out, You would flop down and cry because you couldn't get where you wanted. We helped you and made you keep going because we knew you wanted to. Since then, you just keep trying and succeeding. Even at 9 months old, you learned to never give up. I'm so proud of you and hope that I will never be the one to tell you that you can't do it.

Love,

Dad