A Letter to my Son
Due to this being Two Wheels, Fast Feet week at Loving the Bike, we’re pre-empting our regular Tuesday #bikeschool post for a great submission by my friend Jim. He’s a great writer, and super awesome Dad. Thanks for this, Jim.
A Letter to my Son
by Jim
Son,
Thursday is your last day of school. You survived the first grade.
You did more than survive actually, you excelled. I remember when you started, how difficult it was to spell the words or color inside the borders. Secretly, I wanted you to scribble outside the borders a little…and when you received a low score for “following instructions” I totally understood – it happens to me too.
You also became quite the artist this year! Your responses to the fill-in-the-blank questions sure were interesting…
My Dad is very tall. My Mom is pretty. My Dad likes the COMPUTER. My Mom likes me. Fair enough little buddy, I’m picking up what you are putting down. I was a little bummed you had me liking the COMPUTER instead of RUNNING or RIDING BIKE, but after you showed me some of your classmates’ responses I’m glad you didn’t write “TV” or “drinking beer.”
I’m so proud of what you accomplished this year. You taught me a lot too! Like last winter, when I was ranting about a meeting, you appeared from nowhere with your superhero gear on and said…
“Dad! I know what you can say at your meeting. We gotta agree everybody. And make good choices.” What a smart superhero I have. This summer is going to be one to remember. We’ll swim, bike and run…and make it one huge adventure. We’ll ride to the tree fort where there’s no computer, where we can pretend to be Lego Fighter Dudes or whatever you dream up. Two wheels and fast feet!
Love,
Dad
Jim rides a bicycle and loves to run. He’s a co-conspiritor of #bikeschool, and all around great guy. He also happens to be a twitter genius and you can tweet with him at @bikerly.
Hey Jim, this was such a great idea I had my kids do the same assignment. Here is what they came up with….I absolutely love their answers and we all had a great time doing this. I’ll have to get my baby to do this when he’s a little older as well.
Awesome post, Jim! My son is in kindergarten and my daughter is in 2nd grade, so right around the same age — lots of fun! We’re planning to have a lot of fun on bikes this summer (and have already started).
Best,
Rob
Thanks, Rob. They sure are good teachers aren’t they!
Jim, this was too cute. I remember when my daughter first started school, and the innocence answers to some major questions, like “what do you want to do when you grow up?” “I want to be an aquarium ticket girl. ” was my daughter’s response. Now I have entered into the teenage years with my daughter, Oh how I miss those little innocent years. Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! I hope your son realizes someday how lucky he is to have a father like you. We all haven’t been as fortunate. Happy Father’s day Jim!!
Thanks, Heather. Really. But, I’m the lucky one. I learn way more from him. Kids are smarter than adults?
Jim, once again you are pulling the emotions out of me man. I am totally honest, when I say that this is now officially my favorite post of yours….I know I say that all the time, but I really did love this one. You are an incredible Dad and one who I will continue to look to for guidance and inspiration. You’ve got a couple very lucky kids, with a great future ahead of them.
Darryl
Thanks, Darryl. I can’t wait to see your kids responses to to the same exercise. Twitpic or yfrog it here?