Dear son, you are twelve today
Every year, on the 29th of March, I write a blog post titled, " Dear son, you are [insert age] today" A couple of years ago, I stopped writing it since you are now old enough to browse the web on your computer and land here and I wasnt yet ready for us to talk about it. I am making an exception this year, because like everything else, 2020 is turning out to be one of a kind.
Dear Son,
You had a big birthday planned. A band competition on Saturday morning with friends that you have been practicing hard for the past couple of months, a Tae Kwon Do black belt test in the evening that is the culmination of over 3 years of hard labor followed by a sleepover with your best friends on the eve of your birthday. You had some gifts picked out that I regretfully procrastinated and realized it too late. Now it will have to wait for a while.
The day played out very differently. You spent your birthday blowing the candle in front of family, dialed in from different parts of the world on Google Hangouts and WhatsApp. You then got to hang out with your friends on Hangouts chatting for over an hour. Our afternoon was spent watching old episodes of Remington Steele as a family. You got in an hour of practicing your vocal music. We wrapped up the day's proceedings with a pleasant walk chatting about bioinformatics and the FDA. I break all this down in detail because it serves as a microcosm to what your past year has been and what the coming year is shaping up to be.
You are a very different person and a lot has changed in the past year. You are headstrong, almost annoyingly so at times. You can be incredibly lazy, especially when you know it bothers me. And you can argue until the cows come home. And there are days, oh, there are days when your mother and I go back and watch videos of you at 2 and 3, just to remind ourselves how adorable you were.
All that aside, you are growing up to be a boy your mother and I are incredibly proud of. You are a clown, in the most delightful of ways. Your musical instincts are really strong- your ability to pick up new instruments is really something to behold (and worth putting up with the cacophony it creates in the early days) as is your passion for vocal music. You are funny, a lot more than you think. You are smart, much more than you actually claim yourself to be (humility could do with some work though :)). You are incredibly curious about everything, which gives me a lot of hope for your future. Your empathy still needs some work but your sympathies are spot on. But most of all, you are a good person. Your instincts for right and wrong are almost always right. Your heart is always in the right place. And when all else fails, your smile fixes it all. The infectious enthusiasm you bring is worth the price of admission for even the most nonsensical of your pursuits.
Your mother and I are excited to see the strapping young man you are growing to be. Your innocent laughter watching old episodes of "Yan can cook" and "Tom and Jerry" while hiding your face when Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist exchange a kiss in Remington Steele tell us, you are growing up to be the best parts of your parents (while the argument on how much of each is hotly debated at home everyday).
In these days of COVID19, when I worry about very many things, nothing worries me more than the world you will inherit from us. But as with my every worry, a walk with you in the neighborhood makes it all disappear, even if for a few minutes. Such is the joy you bring to our lives.
Happy birthday and have a spectacular year ahead,
With all the love in the world,
Appa