Fourth of July 2021⚓︎
Originally written on Sunday July 4th, 2021 at 11:48pm.
Dear Jackson,
I've been meaning to write you a letter for a long time, but I'm now finally getting around to it. I wish I had some excuse worth mentioning, but I won't waste our time.
This has been quite a ride so far. You're now 21 months old and your mom and I just said today that you should be part of Mensa. For context, it's an organization for people with a high IQ. I'll get into that more later.
You're just coming off of the busiest week of your life and you have a bit of a cold. These things happen, especially with you starting daycare. To recap your week...
- Sunday: Luciano's 2nd birthday
- Monday: Went to Tobay beach with your mom
- Tuesday: First day of daycare
- Wednesday: Went to visit nonna
- Thursday: Second day of daycare
- Friday: Visiting your aunt Josie with your mom
- Saturday: Visiting your aunt Joanna and uncle Rich at their new house
It's now the 4th of July, and it's been exactly 5 years that your mom and I moved into 41 Grove St. You were a twinkle in our eye when we moved in, but it was a moment that your mom and I took to realize just how far we've come in 5 years. We built a home, got decent jobs, saved money where we could and had you. Like I said, it's been quite a ride.
Here I am talking about 5 years like it's a long time, but really, it feels longer. You've been around for nearly 2 of those years and we feel like you've been here forever. You'll see it one day; the older you get, the more time seems to speed up.
I'm rambling; back to the letter.
By the time you read this, you'll probably think it's silly, but just to list a few things you've accomplished before your 2nd birthday...
- Counting to three (I saw you do it today for the first time; it was incredible).
- Knowing all your colors and pointing them out all the time.
- Stringing sentences together with up to 5 words.
- Remembering things months later that you only saw/heard once.
- Being absolutely fearless
To that last point, you need to know that it's not an exaggeration. Your mom and I just enrolled you in daycare at Everbrook Academy, and this was your first week. At the moment, it's one of my favorite 'Jackson' stories.
We arrived at daycare and I carried you into the building. You were a little hesitant about the place (I was too), but you were confident. You spotted colored arrows on the floor for traffic patterns due to covid-19 and started calling out all the colors as we walked to your classroom. I set you down outside your classroom because we weren't allowed to bring you in (again, due to covid-19) and you spotted two other kids - a boy and a girl.
You brought your favorite toy along, a blue puppy aptly called "puppy". You saw the kids and confidently began walking towards them, and as soon as you got into the classroom, you raised puppy over your head and shouted "puppy!!" You couldn't wait to show the other kids your puppy and to see what it was all about. Before your mom and I left, you looked back to see if we were still there. Your mom had been telling you for weeks at this point that when you go to school, you say bye-bye to mommy and daddy. We waved goodbye to you and although you were hesitant, you went right back to playing.
We left you in the classroom and you had a blast. We thought it would be longer before we left, but we were only in the building maybe 15 minutes. We were so proud of you for showing what it means to be fearless and confident in a new situation...with new people in a new environment. We know that this fearlessness is going to take you as far as you want it to go, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure you never lose it.
I'm going to make it a point to write more to you because I think it's important. I want you to always know how we feel about you and highlight some of the awesome moments in your life. You're only just beginning and you've already come so far. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you, but always remember that your mom and I will be right there to support you any way we can.
Keep it up, son. You're off to a great start.
Always,
Dad
