For Parker

I have been feeling sentimental lately and decided to write a letter to Parker for when he is older or in case....

To my wonderful boy Parker,

Last month, on Sept 21st, you turned 3! I know it is said a lot but I really can't believe it! How did this happen? It seems like only yesterday that dad and I were talking about starting a family and having a baby. 

I want you to know that I love you so much.  Dad loves you so much too. You are such an amazing boy.  You are a great brother to Logan and such a smart kid!

A memory for you:  For your birthday you camped outside with dad and in the morning I came out with Logan and started singing happy birthday.  You got really mad at me and said that it was not your birthday in the tent.  It was only your birthday in the house! After explaining with no success that it is your birthday wherever we go, you still demanded to go inside.  Once we got inside you looked at me and said "I want cake!" See, you knew that the cake was in the house and in order for it to be your birthday you had to have cake, therefore it wasn't your birthday outside of the house! (And once a year I am okay with you having cake for breakfast!)

We decided to go to McDonalds for lunch so you could play with other kids and have some fun! You are such a good listener! You were so nice to everyone there and you love to make new friends! We are working on boundaries, however, you really like to get in everyones face- especially those that are smaller than you! You are a great eater too, eat one nugget, one apple slice, one drink of chocolate milk, then go play.  You even took a potty break and didn't have an accident! Awesome!

I want you to know that I wish so many things for you.  I wish that you will grow up and continue to be the kind loving person you are.  I wish that you don't lose your sensitive side just because you are a guy.  I wish that you always stay close to your family and that when you have a family of your own you still keep close! Life can be difficult and I wish that you can make it through as unscathed as possible.  Remember, it's okay to get hurt, you will have a broken heart and you will most likely hurt other people.  Life has to give you these experiences to make you grow up! You have to go through the hard in order to make the good that much better.  Always remember to apologize when you are wrong. Learn who your true friends are and don't let them go, no matter how much time or space get put between you.  Best friends are hard to find and once you find them they are worth keeping.  

I wish that you will continue to love to learn.  Learning can be difficult and stressful and downright hard, but in the end, I promise that it is worth every second. I wish that you learn who you are.  This is a hard thing to do and that is because you will always be changing.  Somethings will stick to you and others will be a phase.  Either way, make sure that you understand yourself and know what you want and who you are.  I wish that you set goals for yourself and constantly try to achieve them even if it seems like it can't be done.  Your goals will be what get you want you want in life and mistakes and errors only teach you better ways of how to get there.  I hope you always have something that you want to strive for! I wish that you don't let others define who you are and that you aren't afraid to be whoever that is.  Sometimes people don't like others choices, but I don't want you to feel as if you have to please everyone- it is just not possible.  If you feel good about yourself and aren't hurting anyone and are doing good, then you are just fine! Don't let society dictate who you can or can't be- cause they can be wrong! Don't worry about "fitting in".  Sometimes the best people were born to stand out.  

I want you to find your own views on religion.  A lot of people will tell you what to believe and they will all be different things! This can get confusing! Explore religion and your belief in God.  You may end up not believing in either, but I want you to decide what you believe for yourself, not just because it's the norm or because it's easier to believe what other tell you to. 

I love you and wish you everything...

Mom