Dear sons: Don't lose that spunk

Letter #2

Dear sons:

Believe it or not, the world as you see it now won't look the same in a few years. You'll grow up and get bigger and get to stay up later and have more freedom. That's not all that changes. The world gets bigger and life gets harder. Being responsible isn't as easy or as thrilling as you may think it is. Sometimes being a grown up is hard and sometimes it's not fun. And sometimes we grown ups forget to have fun. Sometimes we get self-concious and are afraid to let loose and be ourselves. I get so much joy in seeing you enjoy life before those insecurities creep into your concious.

Brandon, last night when we were shopping I watched in amusement as you sang and danced. You didn't care about who was around or what you sounded like or looked like. As we packed groceries, you asked, "Do skunks live outside here?" I explained that there are skunks in the neighborhood, but we usually don't see them because they come out at night. "So, we could walk out of here and one of them might walk right up to us?" I went on to tell you that it would be very unusual for that to happen because they'd be too scared of you." Then you said, "That's right. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you." Then you broke into song, repeating that line over and over in a funky disco sound with a "Na, na, na. and a chicka, chicka, chow" thrown in here and there. You spun around and did karate kicks and danced all over the checkout lanes with the lack of inhibition of a spunky 8-year-old.

Then you whistled all the way to the car. You held onto the cart, let your head drop back and exclaimed, "Wow, the town looks so beautiful when you look at it upside down."

You reminded me a little of myself long ago. When I was around kindergarten age, my family referred to me as "the ham." I was always singing and dancing and doing anything to attract attention or perform. As the years went on, I got more shy and reserved. I wish I hadn't. Life would be much more fun if I had the courage to sing and dance and not worry about what other people thought. I enjoyed revisiting that in you. I enjoy seeing that in your brothers, also. For each of you it has existed, longer for some than for others. Keep that for as long as you can. Keep dancing, Keep singing. Don't stop to look or listen to other's criticism. I love your spunk. I envy it.