The Parenting Manual

Every parenting manual should have an "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass" component. In that glass should be a bottle of Whiskey and a one way ticket to Fiji. Wait, they don't make manuals? Crap...

Parenting

As a parent you can't really tell you if you are good, you hope that you are doing a good job, but you'll never really know for a a good twenty years or so...at least that's my theory. But as H has started becoming a little boy, and as we find ourselves trying to teach him and lay the groundwork for the years to come, I find myself learning new things everyday. So here a few of the things I have learned:

* It's OK to walk outside with your barefeet
* Sometimes it's ok to cut across the grass
* Letting out a shout, just because, is good for you
* Laughing at nothing at least once a day will make you smile...even if you are crying at that moment
* It's OK to fall down, it's even better when someone is there to pick you up
* Naps are good
* It's OK to cry
* If you can get applause for eating sweet potato's, standing up, signing, take it, and run with it!
* Your mom and dad will always be there for you...even when you don't think they are, they are probably three steps ahead of you

A Promise

I know we are heading down a new path, a path that leads to your crawling, walking and talking, a path where you start to experience the world in a new way, and I am excited for that journey to start. But one of the most beautiful things so far has been to see you experience the little things that the day brings. The way you smile when your mom or I get you up in the morning, the way that your eyes light up at the painting in the kitchen, even though you have seen it a thousand times you get excited with each new look at it; like you are experiencing those vibrant colors in a new way each time. Seeing the way that you touch a cold door or window as we watch the goings on outside makes me smile and make me realize that one of the best things about being a parent is watching you experience your world. Seeing the beauty in all the little things in life as you learn them one by one.

So, I want to make you a promise. I want to promise you that I will let you have those experiences. I will try my best to not ruin the little things in life, to you let you have those experiences as untarnished as I can. I will make that promise to you if you can promise me one thing; to keep your child like amazement forever. Keep looking at the world as a new experience each day, and simply take in each new moment with those wide baby blue eyes twinkling at the beauty of it all.

If we can promise each other that, I can't wait to see you experience life.