Dear Eliza,
I know these letters are about your age milestones, but I'm turning the tables. A couple weeks ago I turned 34, concluding my "Jesus year." I called it that because Jesus did a lot of amazing things when he was 33. While I knew I wouldn't live up to that standard I figured it would be an amazing year anyway.
(I had also thought up a brilliant, Jesus-themed birthday party when I turned 33 -- fish, water, wine, sandals, long hair, etc. -- but figured that would be frowned upon by the Almighty.)
The year turned out spectacular. We vacationed in Hawaii and Italy. That's not going to happen often. I also returned to Italy a couple months later for work. We found out you're having a little brother! At work, I got a promotion and leadership award. I was able to get more good people good jobs, too. All these things make Dad happy.
Among the many things that Jesus did that Dad didn't in his 33rd year was perform truly selfless acts. Jesus went so far as dying for our sins. I got along fine with the Romans when I was overseas, but I am going to make this next year more about being selfless. I could argue that I already spend a lot of time helping out others, but sometimes there's a collateral effect so I benefit or am recognized. I've had my share of that recently.
We're on vacation right now in Encinitas, Calif., and I've been reflecting on a couple concepts during downtime: presence and fulfillment. It's a trick of the mind to feel fleeting fulfillment (alliteration!) when you're busy or achieving a lot of things, but that can be also create distractions and prevent you from enjoying the moment and company you're with.
Maybe it's because I'm a little older and wiser, but I've found that when I help out other people, I feel a lot better myself and am naturally more present. So here's to more of that in the next year.
Speaking of presence, you're currently fighting a nap and rattling off a lot of your new phrases:
- "Mommy go?" -- As in "Where did Mommy go?" usually followed by fake crying
- "Me too" -- In general agreement
- "Pool whee" and "Beach whee" -- Suggesting to go places that are more fun than taking a nap
- "Hap birf'd you" -- One of your favorite songs that you usually like to sing to your cousin Harry
- "News doo doo Elmo" -- Short for "I want to watch 'Elmo's World' on the same screen that you old people watch local news."
How about you do Dad and Mom a solid and take a nap? I guarantee that by helping us you'll wake up feeling a lot better yourself. See how that works?
Love,
Dad