family

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Dear Jack: Your Instant New Hat Collection

14 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

This past Sunday, our family was invited to attend the big work party that Mommy was responsible for planning and directing.

When she explained there would be a “hat bar”, I just couldn’t comprehend what that even meant.

Once the party started, I suggested that our family be the first to try it out. I never would have imagined it would be so much fun to curate a collection of patches to be pressed on to a trucker hat. You immediately chose a Dale Earnhardt patch for your designated hat, as we assumed we would only get to make one hat per person.

But by the end of the party, since the cost of the hats and service were already paid for, you had some extra fun in creating some silly hats.

I would love to actually see you wear them in public…

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Why There is a Roller Skate on Your New Hat

9 years, 3 months.

Dear Holly,

I’m sure I’ve pointed this out before, but I’m officially the person in our family who says “no”. It’s written into my DNA and therefore my role as the patriarch of our family.

Not only do I say “no” to questions like, “Can we get a pet dog?” and “Can we get a pool?”, but I also am the person who initiates what time we will go to an event and what time we will leave.

I’m the gatekeeper and the timekeeper. As I like to think, I keep things fun by creating and promoting the boundaries.

Accordingly, I make sure that you and your brother get to bed on time, and more importantly, get to sleep on time, each night.

It is of course your instinct to delay the bedtime process every single night: “I need a hair tie first… I need some water first… I need some lotion first… I need my stuffed animal first…”

I learned to proactively say, “Okay, Holly… it’s time to go take your shower. Before you do, I need you to go get your hair tie, your water, your lotion, your stuffed animal… your roller skates!”

Part of our nightly routine is for you to respond to my silly joke, “Daddy, I don’t need roller skates to go to bed!”

So when it came time for you to create your trucker hat this past weekend at the “hat bar” at Mommy’s work party, in addition to the shell I suggested to represent our last name, you obviously also chose to include a roller skate patch!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Trying Italian Sausage

14 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

Nearly a year ago when you turned 14 years old, you casually mentioned that you might try eating some meat; since you have never tried it on your own.

When you were a baby, we fed you some baby food with some meat in it, but it has been your choice your entire life otherwise to be a vegetarian.

Well, nearly a year since you mentioned your curiosity of trying meat, this past weekend after I cooked the Italian sausage for our class at Sweet & Savory Classroom in Chattanooga, you saw your sister serving as the “taste tester” and then said, “I think I’ll try some of that sausage.”

And then you did.

So this might be the beginning of you slowly transitioning to increasing your protein intake, during the middle of your continued growth spurt further into adulthood.

For what it’s worth, you are currently 5′ 4.5″, just an inch and a half shorter than Mommy now. Though we did discover you now outweigh her by a few pounds!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Reciprocating Your Sister’s Need for Affection

14 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

I feel like one of the themes of this summer is that you continue to reciprocate your sister’s efforts in wanting to be buddies.

What I am seeing is that now, instead of you seeing her as some sort of competition as your only sibling, you have begun to see her as an equal member of our family.

I see the way that the two of you now mutually choose to hang out around each other, like when we were at Lowe’s this past weekend.

Or when as a family, we were watching TV in the living room this week and I noticed that you both were sort of cuddled up together on the bean bag.

I love this!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Our 4th of July Fireworks Entertainment

14 years, 8 months.

Dear Jack,

Carrying on family traditions is extremely important to you. Your entire life, you have always been drawn to the entertainment of fireworks on the 4th of July. We gave you a budget of $50 to spend on fireworks this year, to serve as the family’s entertainment.

The city does a really good job of putting on a fireworks show on July 3rd, which we watched from the parking lot of Grace Presbyterian Church. That was fun for our family to do for our 2nd time now, since moving here a little over a year ago.

Then on the actual night of July 4th, Aunt Dana and Uncle Andrew allowed us to host your fireworks show in their backyard.

The theme of your very own fireworks show was not about beauty. It was not to entice us spectators to look up in the sky and say, “ooh” and “aah”…

Instead, it was more like, “Look out!”, as pieces of cheap toy cars you were blowing up flew into the audience.

You definitely put on a show!

Love,

Daddy