To my son on his 3rd birthday
Three years ago today, I spent the day at work
with a heating pad. I'd been carrying your sister around the previous day
watching the Wisconsin "IroningMan" competition and I thought I had strained my
back. All day, I was having excruciating pain in my back. By the time I got
home from work, all I could do was lie on the floor - stuck to that precious
heating pad.
Your father came home and gently suggested that since it was your due date...that maybe I was in labor. He was right.
The hospital was overcrowded that night and they weren't sure you were ready yet, so they had us walk the halls for a bit. By 2am, they were ready for us, but we were told that I wasn't progressing quickly and it would be a while.
At 6 am, you were born. And you've been surprising us all ever since.
First of all....your gender. I was so sure you were a girl that I only brought a pink outfit to the hospital. Luckily, your Nana was equally sure that you were a boy and came prepared with an alternate outfit.
Second ....your demeanor. Those first two nights in the hospital were some of the most peaceful nights in my life. Your dad stayed home to be with your sister - so it was just the two of us. You seem to have been born with the knowledge that "everything is gonna be alright" and you had a way of looking at me, even at 2 days old, that made me believe it too.
Someday, you are going to think I'm the biggest worry-wart of all time. I will drive you crazy with my endless admonitions to wear your seat belt and look both ways and keep your helmet on. The "everything is gonna be alright" gene? That came from your father. It does not exist in me and it appears that it skipped over your sister as well. Bear with us. We worry because we love you.
Third...your love. After your sister was born, I thought "This is it. My heart cannot possibly love any more than this. I'm as full of love as I could ever get." Boy, was I wrong. You bring out love in people like nothing I've ever seen. To know you is to fall madly in love with you. Teachers, friends, parents, neighbors, - everybody. You are loved.
Fourth...my father. You think you know a man you've grown up with for almost 4 decades. But the day after you were born, my father came to visit and I discovered an entirely new man. The magic you work on people - you work tenfold on your grandfather.
When you were a baby, the thing you liked most is to be carried in the sling. So your grandpa put on the sling and carried you for hours and hours. You'd snuggle up to his chest and put your head against his heartbeat. Call me crazy, but I think that the two of you formed a life-long bond during those early days of your life. The rest of us would be jealous...if it weren't so absolutely touching to watch the two of you together.
Fifth...your father. Your sister clung to me constantly during her first few years of life, but not you. You are a daddy's boy through and through. Again, I'd be jealous...if it weren't so wonderful to watch the two of you together. You have been blessed with a father who is every bit as involved in your life as your mother is. He does it all - dresses you, brushes your teeth, gets you to preschool, feeds you, reads to you, and puts you to bed. He even picked your name. The look you get when he walks in the door after a day at work - I want to bottle that and sell it as "pure joy."
And finally...your sister. Before you were born, I wasn't worried about labor. I wasn't worried about childbirth. I was worried about Dana. She was my first, my daughter, my everything. When you turned out to be a boy, I worried even more. How was she going to survive life without a sister??? I know I couldn't.
But seeing the two of you together is one of the greatest joys of my life. Sure, you fight over random toys and who gets the first bath and who picks the bedtime story. But most of the time - the two of you are pure magic. You have your own way of doing things and communicating to each other. Some days, you guys will disappear on an adventure in the house and I won't hear from you for an hour. Some days, you have your own world and I am only an outside observer.
She takes care of you and loves you like nothing in this world. She has lots of friends, but you are by far her best friend.
I have to admit, when you were born, my very first thought was "how am I going to know what to do with a boy?" Now, I look back and think that was the silliest thought in the world. I love and adore you, Davis John, and I thank you for teaching me so much about life, love, fathers, and families. Happy 3rd birthday sweet baby boy. (You may be a "big boy" of 3 now, but you will *always* be my sweet baby boy.)
Your father came home and gently suggested that since it was your due date...that maybe I was in labor. He was right.
The hospital was overcrowded that night and they weren't sure you were ready yet, so they had us walk the halls for a bit. By 2am, they were ready for us, but we were told that I wasn't progressing quickly and it would be a while.
At 6 am, you were born. And you've been surprising us all ever since.
First of all....your gender. I was so sure you were a girl that I only brought a pink outfit to the hospital. Luckily, your Nana was equally sure that you were a boy and came prepared with an alternate outfit.
Second ....your demeanor. Those first two nights in the hospital were some of the most peaceful nights in my life. Your dad stayed home to be with your sister - so it was just the two of us. You seem to have been born with the knowledge that "everything is gonna be alright" and you had a way of looking at me, even at 2 days old, that made me believe it too.
Someday, you are going to think I'm the biggest worry-wart of all time. I will drive you crazy with my endless admonitions to wear your seat belt and look both ways and keep your helmet on. The "everything is gonna be alright" gene? That came from your father. It does not exist in me and it appears that it skipped over your sister as well. Bear with us. We worry because we love you.
Third...your love. After your sister was born, I thought "This is it. My heart cannot possibly love any more than this. I'm as full of love as I could ever get." Boy, was I wrong. You bring out love in people like nothing I've ever seen. To know you is to fall madly in love with you. Teachers, friends, parents, neighbors, - everybody. You are loved.
Fourth...my father. You think you know a man you've grown up with for almost 4 decades. But the day after you were born, my father came to visit and I discovered an entirely new man. The magic you work on people - you work tenfold on your grandfather.
When you were a baby, the thing you liked most is to be carried in the sling. So your grandpa put on the sling and carried you for hours and hours. You'd snuggle up to his chest and put your head against his heartbeat. Call me crazy, but I think that the two of you formed a life-long bond during those early days of your life. The rest of us would be jealous...if it weren't so absolutely touching to watch the two of you together.
Fifth...your father. Your sister clung to me constantly during her first few years of life, but not you. You are a daddy's boy through and through. Again, I'd be jealous...if it weren't so wonderful to watch the two of you together. You have been blessed with a father who is every bit as involved in your life as your mother is. He does it all - dresses you, brushes your teeth, gets you to preschool, feeds you, reads to you, and puts you to bed. He even picked your name. The look you get when he walks in the door after a day at work - I want to bottle that and sell it as "pure joy."
And finally...your sister. Before you were born, I wasn't worried about labor. I wasn't worried about childbirth. I was worried about Dana. She was my first, my daughter, my everything. When you turned out to be a boy, I worried even more. How was she going to survive life without a sister??? I know I couldn't.
But seeing the two of you together is one of the greatest joys of my life. Sure, you fight over random toys and who gets the first bath and who picks the bedtime story. But most of the time - the two of you are pure magic. You have your own way of doing things and communicating to each other. Some days, you guys will disappear on an adventure in the house and I won't hear from you for an hour. Some days, you have your own world and I am only an outside observer.
She takes care of you and loves you like nothing in this world. She has lots of friends, but you are by far her best friend.
I have to admit, when you were born, my very first thought was "how am I going to know what to do with a boy?" Now, I look back and think that was the silliest thought in the world. I love and adore you, Davis John, and I thank you for teaching me so much about life, love, fathers, and families. Happy 3rd birthday sweet baby boy. (You may be a "big boy" of 3 now, but you will *always* be my sweet baby boy.)
Posted: Fri - September 16, 2005 at 09:30 PM
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Kristen's blog on family life in WI with her 3 D's. (Daddy D, Daughter D and Son D) What can we say? We liked the letter.
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Published On: Sep 16, 2005 09:30 PM
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Published On: Sep 16, 2005 09:30 PM