Growing Up

Dear Cora & Louise,

Christmas is a few days away, and I find myself alone in the house. I think of you all the time.

I wanted to make sure you know how proud I am of you both.

Cora, you've recently shown a real willingness to take on more responsibility. It will sound silly years from now, but even little changes in your behavior are fascinating and exciting to me. You jumped into a project this morning where you cleared out your toys into piles that you wanted to keep, throw away, or donate to Goodwill. You were eager to get the job done, and exhibited genuine empathy for people more needy than you.

In something completely unrelated, you and I were having a conversation the other day. You casually used the word "equivalent" while you spoke. For a split second I continued listening intently before getting totally absorbed in how perfectly you used the word. It made me smile.

Louise, you've been in a phase of your life where you've discovered what the word "no" can do. Occasionally, you steadfastly refuse to do something we've asked you to do (something terrible, like "eat a bite of your dinner"). But you seem to be growing out of that. Recently, you've been eager to join in and help with little things...when your Mum has to answer the phone, you'll come over and keep feeding me...you'll jump up and help with the pets when you haven't even been asked to...you'll pull a chair into the kitchen and just start helping your Mum with whatever she's working on...you insist on helping to administer my medicine. 

It's wonderful to watch you develop. I hope you never stop growing, and I hope you continue to enjoy learning. 

I love you both, so much,

Dad