Author: Steven Aitchison
The owner of this blog. Proud father, doting husband, blogger, hire me as freelance writer, and addiction worker
A letter to my son…….
NOT TO BE OPENED UNTIL YOUR 30TH BIRTHDAY
Dear Son
You might not understand this fully just now which is why I am asking you not open this letter until you are 30 years of age.
First I would like to tell you I love you, I know I have told you this everyday since you were a little boy, but I hope now you appreciate just how much I do love you.
I am very proud of you for the man you will become, I know you are strong and you have great morals, values and principles, something I hope I have instilled this in you..
I hope you have listened to me when I said you should get a good education, this way you have more choices in life. I also know it might have sounded like a lecture when I went on about how a good education can help you in life. I also told you that you could be anything you wanted to be, I hope you have chosen wisely and you are happy with life.
On all the occasions I moaned at you to tidy your room, to wash the dishes, to take out the bins and to take the dog for a walk it was for a reason, I hope you see that now and I hope you know that these little chores were teaching the value of working together and being a part of the family.
I hope you have forgiven me for all the times I sent you to your room, without TV or the play station, for telling lies. I know now that you will realise that telling the truth is a great strength, it can be hard, but ultimately it’s what separates the men from the boys. Telling the truth can be hard sometimes, as you’ll now know, and you will probably know that it’s the right thing to do, always. If you have told the truth with tact and diplomacy so much the better as long as it’s the truth.
Treating people how you would like to be treated is something I know you were always good at and something I so much wanted to instill in you. I hope you have carried this through your life.
We always taught you to work smarter than the next person, not necessarily harder but smarter. You were always intelligent, always thinking ahead, even the day I first taught you chess.
I know you will have come across irritating people in your life and some stupid people; however, I hope you did not sacrifice your integrity by making yourself look good at the expense of others.
Remember the time we used to climb that old oak tree, those are some of my best memories. The time when you thought you couldn’t jump off the big branch, I was proud of you when you left your fear behind and jumped; it set you up to do so much more. The time when you learned to swim a breadth of the pool, your face was a picture.
I pray that you learned to be comfortable with yourself and learned to like yourself for who you are and not let others manipulate you. You were always funny, always laughing, caring and loyal I love that about you.
My biggest wish for you son, is that you are happy and comfortable with your choices in life.
I love you, always
Your Dad.
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Obviously I’m not your son, but I think it’s great advice. Thanks for posting it. =)
It’s a beautiful post. It’s something that I would like to set my stall out to do as well.
I am desperately trying to collect pearls of wisdom on parenting over at my blog as I want to be the best I possible can, so if anyone has some advice to give me, please drop by and leave it. I need help!!
Derrick, thanks for your kind words and thanks for stopping by.
MDB, thanks for stopping by, I am looking forward to reading your blog.
Oh yeah you have reminded me something … which I wanted to do … thanks ..
Yeah, something only a parent can understand. I’m sitting with tears in my eyes. I’ve copied this, and it will become part of my “Memory Box”, which I plan to hand over to our son the day he decides he is ready for the adult world.
The love of my mom and dad is apparent in the messages they instilled in me – an integral part of this letter.
Thanks!
Parents should always pay the proper intentions to thier kids becuase they really deserve that.
Responsbility of parents…..hmm
Thanks for sharing, Steven. I’m a parent too and I know the time will come for my kids to grow up and live their own lives.
In the end, all you can do is love them
Very true Dragos
That’s a wonderful letter Steven. One can hardly underestimate the importance of parents in bringing up a child. The most important thing that we can give our children is our love. Just the other day my husband told me that one of the most important missions of parents is to tell their child to “get it together” at one point or another (something that you are telling your son judging from your letter). I can only hope that I will be a good parent for my girls and I will do my best to bring up the best in them.
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