---6 Years Old ---
Dear Son,
Happy Birthday!
I punch the keyboards for this post with so much adulation and pride after your sixth birthday. Six! I can't help but think of the person you're becoming. The word that comes to mind is...super.
Not for some form of alliteration or compliment, but because you're at the core just, well...super.
My favorite thing about you is your developing personality, combined with your ability to reason, respond, and react within your own style and wit. And yes, you can read now, so there are some smarts behind it all at this stage.
Yet, under the "come on bruhhs" and the use of the phrase "literally" for every statement of relevance you want to exclaim, there is the constant thread of the fabric that is empathy that remains within your personality that is so beautiful to witness and experience.
"Are you okay?"
I especially love the way that you feel for people (and things) in the moments. The way concern draws over your face with innocence and the sharpness of wrong and right. You care for nature. You care for the environment. "That thing has a habitat!" You care for others. You absolutely love your little brother.
I watched you cheat in a game of Battleship and saw guilt pull you apart emotionally without even mentioning it.
You care. You love. You feel. You're super.
You're six!
And oh yeah, you now love pro wrestling. That's just the cherry on top for Dad, who gets to share feelings with you, and of course, watch pro wrestling.
Again, you're super, kid.
Happy Birthday, Ace.
Love, Dad.