My daughter Melissa is 8 years old today. 10/10/10 - What a date. What a kid. She's talked about nothing but her birthday for the last couple of days, but not just about presents and cake. She's been reminding me that she will still be my little girl even though she's going to be eight years old. To say she's a sweet kid would be an understatement. She has a sweetness and a maturity that I've never seen in a little girl her age. I am proud of my small part in it.
I've always told her she is my little girl and that I am proud of her. When she does well, she is praised. When she does less than her best, she is counseled. When she does poorly, she is punished. I am raising a future doctor or president of a major corporation or philanthropist. I am raising a leader and this cannot be accomplished by celebrating mediocrity or by excusing less-than-her-best performance.
I know she is a child and I make sure she knows it, but I am not about to allow what I've always referred to as "sentimental retardation" make me so soft that I stop being a father. I don't need to be her friend, I have plenty of friends and so does she.
So, in a while, she she will open her gifts (she just woke up and came in to say hello) and we'll go to church and she'll tell everyone there it's her birthday and she'll love the attention. She deserves the attention. She's a sweet kid who brings happiness to everyone she meets. A blessing. An angel. That God has blessed me with her is overwhelming. I have four kids and all of them are, in their own way, extraordinary. A day like today, when one of them has a birthday, is cause for celebration times four.
Take time today to remind your child how much they mean to you. Even if you want to pick them up and throw them in the nearest city dump. Every kid makes you nuts sometimes, but it's a small price to pay for the joy, the humility, and the possibilities they bring.
So, happy 8th birthday, Mookie. I love you more and more each day. Your daddy is proud and the most blessed man in all the world.
Go hug a kid - any kid.
- Adolfo
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