I Love You, Son
William, this is one of the few times I will address you by name. But I want you to know this…
I Love You!
While what happened to the 7 to 8-year-old children in Newtown, Connecticut is tragic, it will not keep me from letting you grow up. I can’t protect you forever. You always want to hold my hand to go to sleep. However, I will not always be able to do that. I can’t keep some creep from coming in and taking you in your sleep. I can’t keep you from playing on our driveway and some drunk driving through our lawn and hitting you. I can’t keep you from playing in our back yard and someone shooting a gun in the air a mile away and the bullet hitting you. I can’t keep you from going to school and someone deciding that shooting children is the answer. These are all things that have happened before, what is to keep them from happening again.
I can’t keep these things from happening. As much as I want to, I can’t. William, I love you! I love you more than you will ever be able to realize. That is the one thing I can tell and show you. I will tell you that every, single, day. I do NOT want something to happen to you and deal with the feelings that I would have if I did not tell you that. Those feelings would be more difficult. I can not even imagine what the parents of the children who were shot are going through. I do not wish that upon anyone.
I have to let you grow up, I have to let you go places where I do not have control over the surroundings. It is one of the risks that I am taking as a parent. I want you to know though, I love you William.
Posted on December 17, 2012, in Fatherhood and tagged Baby, Child, Children, Connecticut, Dad, Daddy, Elementary school, Family, father, Fatherhood, Fathers, Health, home, Kids, Life, mom, mommy, Mother, motherhood, Newtown, Newtown Connecticut, Parent, parenthood, parenting, Toddler. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
The Rookie Dad 
Beautifully said.
Great post! I had a mild panic attack dropping my son off at kindergarten this morning and came to the same realization you did: I can’t protect my boy from everything. I’d like to try, but it’s impossible. Great point of how important it is for Dads to say “I love you” to their kids EVERY SINGLE DAY! Well done!
Writing Pad Dad