fatherhood

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Dear Holly: You and Your Cousin Darla are Pretty Much Everywhere Together

8 years, 10 months.

Dear Holly,

As I do my best to manage incoming photos from Aunt Dana and Nonna, I realized I needed to created a special folder named “Holly and Darla”. There is a reoccurring theme: So many photos are of you and your cousin Darla together.

Sometimes, I receive these photos with no context or caption… not that one is necessarily needed.

Dance class. Dinner after dance class. School. Church?

Those mainly seem to be the categories.

When you’re not here with me at the house, it’s pretty much a given that you and your cousin are together doing whatever it is you’re doing.

And I’ve got the photos to back it up… even if I had no idea where you were at the time.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Handyman for Hire

14 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Mommy knows better than to ever ask me for help with putting anything together she orders from online. (This time it was planter boxes for the garden she is starting in our yard.)

All that would happen is that I would be angry for the entire day, as I can not be trusted with any projects even closely connected with the concept of engineering.

I’m… the… worst.

But not you. What would have taken me several hours, and it still wouldn’t have been done right, you seemed to easily figure out in about 45 minutes.

Mommy was happy to pay you by letting you get a $10 upgrade on your PlayStation 5 game.

And I noticed you threw in a Hot Wheels car as we were buying groceries after church.

I really like our arrangement with you as our household handyman.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: The Backyard Swings

8 years, 10 months.

Dear Holly,

Exactly a year ago, our family spent Spring Vacation by coming down here to this house we just bought in Alabama, to begin doing renovations.

I believe it was then that Mommy first recognized the tree on the edge of our property and said, “Oh, Papa needs to help us put up a swing on that tree. That would be so much fun.”

As of this month, we now not only have a commercial grade swing, but also a rope swing, hanging from that tree.

It has been nice to see how our family naturally ends up there on the swings.

Mommy made a good call about that tree.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

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Dear Jack: Target Practice on an Armored Vehicle

14 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

After being inspired by one of your PlayStation 5 games, you decided to spend $6 on a die cast armored vehicle to try to destroy with your BB gun.

It was such a perfect way for you to spend a sunny Spring day, right here in our backyard.

You are always curious. You are always conducting experiments.

I’ve been watching you do this kind of thing your whole life.

You like to figure out how things work. I just know that whatever you end up doing for a living, it’s going to be something that keeps your brain working hard all the time.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Signs of Life

8 years, 10 months.

Dear Holly,

Last week Mommy traveled to California to spend some time with Grandma in Sacramento. Apparently, it is customary that because you are still a little girl, you definitely are still entitled to a souvenir every time she leaves the state of Alabama.

Even though you already had 8 other Warmies (microwaveable stuffed animals that smell like lavender when you heat them up), you needed another: This time, a hamster.

Before you left for school yesterday morning, you made sure your new hamster was all set up for the day: He watched TV and ate popcorn until you got home.

It is not uncommon for me to discover your Warmies throughout the house; staged like real life animals and/or babies.

I love being your dad.

Love,

Daddy