Meet Mia, My Little Girl

“Certain is that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.”

~ Joseph Addison

miaIntroducing you to my son was one of the highlights of this site’s young life. Not only was the series tremendous fun, it allowed my boy to gain a bit of direct insight into what I do and how I interact with the world when I’m not engaged in garbage trucks, super heroes, or monster hide and seek.

Max had a grand time and has since asked (no less that 47,238 times) when we might do it again. Soon buddy, soon. The two of us together read every comment and email, and thank you for your kindness and compliments from the bottom of our hearts. 

This week it is my daughters turn.

Mia is magic. She must be, how else could she possibly transform both my identity and destiny just scant seconds after arriving in the world? She is just bright enough to make me believe that children can do just about anything, and needs just enough guidance to make me certain no child can ever do their best without the steady beat of belief behind them. 

Mia is our first born; a veritable bulls-eye for every over indulgence we were ever foolish enough to lend our surrender. Though there were roughly 10 billion babies born before Mia, she is the one who taught us how to parent, showed us the rippled image of our deep reflection, and led Daisy and I toward our truest voice.

About three weeks back, Mia lost her two front teeth. This has not only temporarily shifted the character of her face, and made her so heart achingly, beautifully awkward, the void is also an unceasing reminder that the final page of our daughter’s first act as a child has been forever turned.

There is an artist living in the deepest bed of Mia’s inner well. She can whittle hours as she rinses white space with color – crayon, pastel, pencil, paint – she loves them all and wields each with equal abandon. Her love for rich language and vivid color are woven from the same fabric that hangs from her father like well washed cotton.

Mia has taught, and continues to teach me, to constantly reach for my best. There is nothing she won’t try. If Mia can jump onstage and sing kareoke to songs she’s never heard, even though they are familiar to all those around her and she is a few hairs past scared (something that happened at a Hanna Montana birthday party this weekend), then I can push against the wind every bit as hard.

It is our job to set the example for her each and every day, her actions then setting first precedent for Max. It doesn’t matter we come from, only the future we build each day. Mia’s constant glee for life easily pulls us deep inside her moments.

This week will follow a similar template set by Max the previous week. Questions left for Mia today will be answered later.

I’m proud to share my Mia with you. I hope you enjoy her gifts.

Writer Dad

Bright Ideas

“Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why.”

~Bernard Baruch

Some of you might remember my good friend Lucas, though most of you probably will not.  The last time Lucas was here, his words were reviewed on eldietario and he got all giddy.  He’s been wanting to return ever since.

I keep telling Lucas he’s only ten years old, and should be directing attention elsewhere.  Attention, he said, is exactly what he wants.  The thing about Lucas is that he never tires of asking questions (his parents must not believe in baby talk), and wants to ask them in front of as many people as possible.

Though there are fewer readers of this blog than students at Abraham Lincoln K-8, the last time Lucas had them assembled in a single location, he was suspended for three straight days.  Without further ado, here’s Lucas.  I told him if today went well, he could come back and do it again.

Lucas Bright :  I Know I’m Special!

My name is Lucas Bright.  Grown-ups say I’m smart.  They taught me to ask questions.  I’m gonna go ahead and start.

Life can be confusing.  There are a million different rules, a million different lessons, and a million different schools.

The ones I find most baffling are those that don’t agree.  They make me feel like I must pull a five from only three.

Earth keeps whirling round and round.  Sometimes it’s overwrought, with six and one half billion of us, all with different thought.

I have never had a question that every one of us is equal, but I’d like to crawl out on a limb and hand that thought a sequel.

If NONE of us are stronger, then how can we give assistance, to those of us who life’s seen fit to offer some resistance?

Perhaps we all should work a bit toward changing this expression, and then we might be able to advance that old impression.

You see, special means exceptional – or better than the rest, but if everyone is special, that means that no one is the best.

Life’s colors aren’t that black and white, they’re really rich and vivid.  Now remember I am just a child, so PLEASE do not get livid.

But if someone knows they’re smarter and they know it from inside, is that the type of feeling that they should have to hide?

Why don’t we let them celebrate?  Let’s hear ‘em shout it loud.  Let them tell the world what makes them stand out in a crowd.

But there’s a cost to all the crowing, a piper they must pay.  When they get that they are gifted, they should build a brighter day.

It’s like when those who have large muscles help out those a little weak, or when those who have loud voices speak for those who cannot speak.

I know that we’re all even when it comes to being special, but is it fair to ask if we all share the same potential?

Now here’s the way I see it (keep in mind I’m just a kid, and despite my parent’s wishes, often speak without a lid).

If the world is filled by those who can, and those who can’t as well, then those who can should KNOW they can, then HELP OTHERS to excel.

No matter who you are, there’s always someone who is more.  If we recognize our cans and cant’s, then everyone can score.

I can help all those who need it.  Others can help me.  Like the waist and foot together are reliant on the knee.

So the next time someone says to me, “Hey Lucas, you’re so smart.”  I’ll be glad that we can tell our subtle differences apart.

It’s okay that we have them.  It’s okay they exist.  It’s not doing all we can with what we have we should resist.

Writer Dad (and Lucas)

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Please note:  Lucas Bright is not really ten years old, or even alive at all. He is purely a figment of Writer Dad’s imagination.  He has many adventures, and this isn’t the first one written, but it is the one where he explains where he is coming from.