Kindness

Aidan, I've always known this. The way you are so sweet to babies, how you hug on your mommy and me, how you wanted to hold Julia from the second you met her... But a few recent events have made me really realize that you, my son, are so very kind.

***
A few weeks ago, you and Julia emptied your piggy banks to get ready to go shopping. Julia had four dollar bills. You had six dollar bills.

She said "Aidan, I have an idea. If you give me one, then we'll both have five!"

You thought about it for a little bit.

Your mother and I watched in silence.

You said "Okay!" And you gave her your dollar. Julia had a big smile. You had a bigger smile. It made you feel good to be so kind!

That is a hell of a lesson that adults- including me- need to learn!

***
The other day after dinner with Aunt Sham and Uncle Joe, you earned yourself two Girl Scout cookies (Samoas...so good) for eating your whole dinner, including the salad. You ran back to the table with your bowl. You almost took a bite. And you looked at your Aunt and Uncle and said..."Do you guys want some cookies?"

They said yes, and you ran back and got each of them two of your treasured samoas.

Sweetness shared is better than sweetness alone.

***
We heard from your teacher today. And it was an incredibly touching story. She tried something new with the lunch seating arrangement in your class. And you liked it. You told her "Best day ever!!"

She was grateful.

Then, you looked at her, tapped the seat next to you, and asked her to sit next to you for lunch.

She said "Me?"

And you said "Yes!"

And so you and your teacher, Miss Gwynn, sat next to each other for lunch.

The way Miss Gwynn told us the story, she sounds like she might have been grinning too much to eat. She told us that you make her happy nearly every day!

Kindness can fill your heart while you are filling your belly.




Your kind heart is one of your best strengths, and it makes me so proud to be your Daddy.

And you've given me a lot to learn from. If I could be as selfless, and sharing, and kind as you, I know I would be a better man.

I will try, my son. I will try.

Parks and Recreation

All weekends come and go. Sometimes, though, we really go, go, go! This weekend we had double adventures at some of our favorite parks.

On Saturday, the four of us went to Klyde Warren for a bunch of splashing in the sun, and some sweet treats, which were sweetly shared.

And where shall we go on our next adventure? The next day, I packed some PB&Js, and the three of us headed to the Children's Garden at the Arboretum, where, you guessed it, we went splashing in the sun and had some sweet treats. We also did a lot of exploring, found a hidden puppet theater, and tried our hand at some new things we haven't done before, like the kaleidoscope, hedge maze building, and tessellations.  

'I'm a mermaid' 

As I look back at these pictures and see the joy on your faces, I'm reminded how much I love exploring this city and this world with you. I hope our journeys together will continue for a long, long time.

Taking Bites and Sharing!