Happy Birthday! (Four already?)


Hi Koko,

You turn four today! Four years, that’s a milestone – for you (and for me). I cannot believe I have spent such a long time at this new job called parenthood. I can’t say I am perfect at it, I don’t think I will ever be. But I think I am doing a pretty good job at it; so yes, even if I guilt myself into leaving you at daycare each day, or every time I scold you for extra screen time, today I shall give a small pat on my back.

Anyway, today is about you and not me. So let’s talk about you, and maybe I’ll share a couple of parent-worthy gems of advice on the way. This year is going to be a milestone, in many ways. You are going to big school, you’ll be travelling on the bus on your own, you keep disappearing for hours as you are at some friend’s place.

You are already a well-travelled young boy, you have been to places that were a dream for me when I was a kid. You have been to Disney Land, you have seen the Eiffel tower, you have been to the Colosseum, you know how to operate a PlayStation, you have more remote controlled cars than you can count. You have parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who are itching to give you more. This excess scares me sometimes. Are we spoiling you, are we giving you too much? Are we taking away your hunger to achieve? I sincerely hope not. That is why, on this birthday of yours, I am not giving you a gift. I am not doing this to torture you. I can buy you almost anything you may want, but that doesn’t mean I will.

Instead, I promise to make you my priority this year. I promise I will stop and play with you every time you want to, I promise to take you to the park every time you want to, I promise to take you swimming every time you want to. I will spend time with you as you write your first cursive letter, as you do your first homework, at the times when you want to tell me all about your friends from school, when you want to hear a bedtime story, when you want some on-demand snack, when you want to play hide and seek, or some other pretend game.

Am I obsessing over you? Maybe I am, at least I have been told so. I’ll wait for you to tell me so, and maybe I’ll slow down then, what say?

Stay happy, stay curious,

Love,
Ma


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