Short and you
It's my birthday and you are the greatest thing in my life. That's all you need to know. Mommy and I are working on getting you a brother or sister. But, you'll always be the first thing that ever totally owned me in every way that I would completely stop anything I was doing and give up my entire life for. That's an aggressive sentence - one day you'll have kids and you'll understand.
Love,
Dad
The Hard Things
Hello Dearest Daughter,
Sometimes life is going to be hard.
Sometimes you're going to have to make decision that may not necessarily seem like the easiest thing. But... are they the right thing?
I hope that your Mother, myself and your family give you a strong moral compass for what's right, what to question, what to subvert to, and what to avoid and overcome. Everyone in your family will have their own lexicon for this kind of task - including yourself. But I think all will agree that you will know right and wrong when it stares you in the face - the difference is... are you in a position to choose. Well... let me tell you... you are always in a position to choose right from wrong.
You will make mistakes.
You should mentally be aware of those mistakes, categorize them, and learn from them.
Don't ever think to yourself, "That's too hard."
I can tell you from experience that I have too often chosen what's easy instead of what is hard. And it has lead me to a life of which things I have often regretted. Not big things like our family or maybe my job but little things that could have lead to bigger things had I tried harder or taken the right path. Instead... I took the easy path far too often.
The hard path will yield dividends in your life. The harder path will separate you from the crowd and you will become a person of character and principle. You will not be scared of life. You will not be a statistic. Your life will not hinge on the choices of other because you know that your choices - though hard - are right.
Your path is your own. Your path will be long, fun, hard, aching and confusing. But it will be yours and if you listen to me - it will be as right as you can make it. And that will make for one proud Father.
Always
Dad
