Vicarity

I wish I could see you 20 years in the future.  Just a glimpse to see where you decide to take your life.  As a toddler and almost a toddler, it's fascinating to watch both of you learn.  It's amazing to watch you experiment with new tastes and react to new sounds or sights.  This morning Joy put toast in her strawberry yogurt.  You said it was yummy.  The Bear dabbled in a little crawling.  Turns out it wasn't for you, quite yet.  Standing back and watching you girls is truly a learning experience.

When you get older, these learning points will get more complex.  Soon enough you'll be picking out clothes, doing school projects, and trying on relationships.  It's scary for a father to think of his two daughters getting older, but also exciting.  I don't think I'll ever be totally prepared for "the talk" or anything to do with that, but it will come and I'll embrace it and I'll smile as I watch you grow.  

But to really see where you take your life is one of those mysteries that holds Christmas-like anticipation.  At least for now.  Growing up, like any other kid, I used to dream about what I wanted to be when I grow up.  I guess I still do (growing up now means when I decide to get out of the military...), but what's more intriguing is thinking about what you're going to be when you grow up.  A doctor, teacher, engineer, administrator?  Any of those, and so many others, are respectable and useful professions.  Will one of you follow in daddy's footsteps and become a Marine?  Yikes!

Whatever it is, I hope your mom and I can give you the tools to succeed.  We will certainly try our best to lead you toward a meaningful life.  I pray the best for both of you, and wait with a sincere hope that wherever you take your life, you will give it your best effort.  And maybe you'll take your dad along.  Until then, I'll just watch and be amazed.