We Survived the First Year

and Theron did too.

A letter from Daddy to Theron Drake...

Dude,

We may have not won any style points in this first year, but we earned a lot of points for difficulty.  Now, please keep in mind that I'm not saying that you were the toughest kid to raise through the first year or the only kid with reflux, but you have been the toughest experience of my life throughout this past year.  I am not ashamed to quote a parent from student-teacher conferences at my school, "I love Christopher, but I don't like him."  That's how I felt about you sometimes during this summer.  Luckily, you have grown out of this summer and you have become a very mellow, relaxed, easy-going young scholar.  I'm going to save that sentence and see if that applies to you on your 2nd birthday, because it is not you at 1-year old.

Here is how I spin your Theron-ness into a positive: you are very driven and headstrong.  I also hope you make a lot of money because you are going to drive me and your mother into a mental institution.  I do want you to know that I will help foster this attitude because I believe this will make you into a "world changer".  The risk I run is that a "world changer" can be both positive or a negative.  Being a history teacher I have seen many a good and bad "world changer" and now I think your path is still a crapshoot.  Fingers crossed.  Aside from your health issues, the main issue that made you a struggle is that your brain has always been ahead of your body in the sense that you want to be able to do things that you are not capable of doing.  You were mad when you couldn't sit up by yourself, when you couldn't stand, when you couldn't crawl (your own doing to some degree), when you couldn't walk, when you couldn't spell, when you couldn't ride your bike, when you couldn't drive a car, when you couldn't do your Calculus homework, when you couldn't get your Doctorate in only 6 months, when you couldn't get Congress to pass the laws you wanted, when you...

Instead of running down your monthly milestones which I failed to document on this blog, major deduction of dad points, for sure, here is where we are at with you:

Crawling: Not so much

Standing: Eventually

Assisted walking: Nailed it

Pushcarting: Look, ma, 1 hand

Shopping Carting: Look, ma, no concept of other people's time

Tractoring: Even as a hipster

Real tractoring: You betcha

Pushcarting + Tractoring: Look, ma, no socks

John Deere Gatoring: With a little help from my Aunty

Independent Walking: Love it

Kicking: Ballin'

Cheesing: He get it from his momma

Cheesing: He get it from his momma

Sleeping: At least right now

Pianoing: Theron van Beethoven of his generation

Clapping: Uh...something like that

Chauffeuring: Future career

Telemarketing: Future career


Modeling: Not a future career

Shopping: More baby in basket, less items to buy in basket (we're in it together)

Vacuuming: Don't trust that thing

Balance Beaming: Look, ma, 1 foot

Pitifulling: Master

This-ing: I guess

 Sledding: Look, ma, no frostbite

Dining: In his defense, I was quite boring this particular evening

Hugging: Awwww

Teeth having: Can you tell?

Teething: He's not tasting his fingers

With all apologies to every other person in my life, there has never been a person that has caused me to feel so many different emotions, so strongly, so often.  I adore your entire existence from your fussy "Theron Days" (as we call them) to your Theron Smiles, to your Theron glares.  You are my Dude, you are my life.

Full disclosure, I didn't want to write this because by writing this it means you are getting older.  I don't want you to get older.  That's not saying I won't love the 2-year old Theron, but right now I only know the 1-year old Theron and he is my soul.  Thanks, Duder, for being my Duder, even on those days that I didn't really like you.  I suppose you could use the whole "I had reflux and I was in pain and discomfort and I didn't know how to express myself" as an excuse.  Valid point.  But what you see below was what it was like for all of us.

But I won't end on that, because that was then, and as one of my favorite songs states, "When I think about the future and past, well the present it goes by so fast."  

I've loved this past year from this:

to this:

and I know that I will love the future years.

By the way, your mom is kinda crazy about you too (I'm sure you feel the same, contrary to this expression).

Love,

Dad