A love letter to Addy

Addy,

Today I watched you play.  You were sitting in front of your toy kitchen set laying a dryer sheet evenly across the surface of your plastic oven before closing the door.  As you carried on, you proceeded to put a turtle in the microwave, the toaster in the sink, and laughed at yourself as if you knew exactly how funny it was to try to bake a dryer sheet.  It was a moment I’ll never forget. Even though you, Mommy, and I play all the time - we love to laugh, dance, play hide and seek and be silly - in this exact moment you were playing by yourself and I couldn’t help but think how much you’ve grown.  This may seem surprising because I see you every day, but I rush around so enslaved by my routine that time flies by and I don’t stop to just see what you’re doing.  I have that problem.  I get so caught up in securing the future that I don’t take the time to enjoy the present.  I want to make sure I’m working as hard as I can to get you whatever you need to succeed and be happy.  Sometimes I am so focused on that goal that I get tunnel vision and, before I know it, it’s the only thing I see.   But today, I watched you play and it reminded me that no matter how hard I work or how determined I am to ensure you are going to have the best life I can give you, one of the most important blessings can be two feet away from me passing me by…the blessing of you.  The blessing of watching you get the most joy out of the simplest thing; of watching you dance to no music wearing a hair tie as a headband; or of holding you in my arms on our corner of the couch as we watch your favorite “good night” cartoon.  Today, I slowed down to watch you play and it was everything I’d been missing.

I love you,

Dad