Growing Up

August 15, 2011

Almost a year has gone by and a million changes have happened while you've been busy growing. You started day care with a wonderful woman named Valentine Reid. Your grandma Jane used to know her through working at Sears. Turns out that Val is married to a long time friend of mine named Darren. Which I can't even begin to tell you how comforting that was to me. Sending you to day care while I went off to work was tearing me up inside. Since I was a small child my plan was always to stay home and raise my children. I strongly believe a lot of what is wrong with kids today and society as a whole is the fact that parents are not raising their kids. Day cares are raising children and then when parents get home, start dinner, eat dinner, clean up after dinner there isn't much time left before the kids have to go to bed. So out of guilt parents don't seem to be parents to their kids. They act more like buddies, and give them everything they want to keep them happy because they don't want the little amount of time they do have with them to be spent doing homework, or grounding them for misbehaving, they want to have fun with them. But instead, kids are growing up to be selfish, rude little punks. SO naturally I didn't want that for you, and was hell bent on staying home with you. But life gets in the way of the plans you make for yourself sometimes.

We want a better house for you, with more room to play, and maybe another room for a little brother or sister one day. A nice basement for slumber parties and a play room, A better back yard and a nicer area for schools and parks to play in. A better life in general. Which meant I had to go back to work and make more money. So off to day care you went.

You were a champ. And Val loved you in an instant. You had a hard time letting go of me when we got to her house and sometimes would cry for a short period of time. But Val wold cuddle you and talk softly and lovingly and soon enough you realized that you'd be safe with her and that she'd be able to comfort you like I do. Val has 2 little girls as well that you seem to really like. Rachelle is 7 and Ava is 4, and wow, do they adore you! She also takes care of 2 other little girls who are the same age as you, Jayden and . Apparently the 3 of you like to have afternoon dance parties to Michael Jackson or Justin Beiber.

You are quite the dance machine. You have the zaniest dance moves and I have NO idea where you get them from. You'll do a quick side shuffle, back and forth, back and forth then suddenly bend forward and STOP!, pause, turn your head slowly to glance over your shoulder to give us a dramatic look, then smile. All the while your arms are bent with your fists in your arm pits like you are doing the chicken dance and POP you're back doing the side shuffle. I love it. I could watch you dance for hours. I keep telling your daddy that I'm putting you in dance lessons. It'll pay off one day. Men who can dance are always popular with the ladies. And if you don't like ladies it works both ways.