Dear Holly: A Father’s Letter to His Daughter on Her 10th Birthday

10 years old tomorrow!

Dear Holly,

Normally I would write you a letter on your actual birthday, but this year is different and special… because Mommy and I are taking you to go see Russell Dickerson in concert on your actual 10th birthday tomorrow.

And I’m not exaggerating when I say that Mommy literally bought the tickets for this 6 months ago! So yeah… the two of you have been looking forward to this and talking about this for a long time.

It will be my honor to serve as your chauffeur for the event.

Oh, right… this is your “double digits” birthday. This is officially you entering the “tween” years.

But we won’t talk about that!

I love you, Holly!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Papa’s New Ford Coupe

15 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

This past Saturday marked the official debut of Papa’s newest car project, which he has been building from the ground up for years now.

I love that you are a major car enthusiast like he is and that the two of you can work on restoring cars for hours together.

As for me… I don’t have that gene. But I did get to drive Papa’s new hot rod down to 3rd Saturday for its official debut!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Celebrating My Birthday

9 years, 11 months.

Dear Holly,

With our birthday just four days apart, it ultimately ends up feeling like an entire week of celebrating both of our birthdays at the same time. As I began receiving gifts in the mail for my birthday, so did you.

Leading up to my 45th birthday on Monday, you had been telling me how hard you were working on my gift.

I am so proud of the drawing you made for… featuring me as a unicorn.

You know how much I always appreciate you taking the time to come up with creative drawings for me. It was perfect!

Love,

Daddy

Turning 45: Unserious Everything and Embrace Absurdity

Today is my 45th birthday. Something particularly interesting is that the Millennial generation begins with people born in 1981; which makes me the very oldest of the Millennials.

Recently I was watching a business video about different age demographics. The guy in the video casually pointed out, “Millennials are getting old.”

Oh… I’m “old” now? But… umm… I don’t act mature enough to be “old”.

Certainly, when people find out I am in my mid 40s (as of today, officially closer to 50 than I am 40 at this point), no one responds with, “Oh, well you’re still a baby!”… like the way they would do when I was still in my 30s.

And that’s okay. I’ve accepted my role as “the designated adult”, as occasion calls for it.

I feel like I am pretty good at just minding my own business. The problem is, theatrical situations always seem to find me.

Even just looking back these past few months…

By simply participating in the Christmas parade, I was unknowingly auditioning for the upcoming Children’s Advocacy Center Play.

By simply joining a group of friends to watch an amateur wrestling event, I found myself involved in a “confrontation” with one of the wrestlers.

By simply going on my morning run and mentioning to a friend that I was taking my daughter to the Easter Egg Hunt at the church, I ended up playing the Easter Bunny.

Maybe what I am trying to say is that the older I get, I am naturally accepting my role to “unserious everything” and embrace the absurdity.

I won’t settle for my life feeling like the movie Groundhog Day. I just have to go and make things weird.

This is 45.

 

 

 

 

Dear Jack: A Lack of Sibling Rivalry

15 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Something I particularly noticed about our family’s recent Spring Break trip was this:

You and your sister genuinely appreciate hanging out with each other.

I’m no longer finding myself in the position of having to break up any tension between the two of you.

That means I myself can enjoy vacations more now- as I am able to focus my attention on leading our family in activities that we all enjoy together.

This makes me very happy.

Love,

Daddy