you may not like me...
Two months from today we'll be celebrating your second birthday, Annabeth! It seems like I was just planning your first birthday not long ago. I've been thinking up ideas for your party, and although I know you won't remember it, I will. And if you ask me, every birthday celebration for a child is a celebration for their mother!
You are so smart, Annabeth. So, so, so, maybe too, smart! If I wrote down every cute, funny, and smart thing you say, I'd have a book the size of you! You do a great job clearly pronouncing words. The only challenge you have is that your Ls sound like Ys. It's adorable, especially now that you say, "I yove (love) you!" Your dad and I are amazed by you on a regular basis. Your little personality is so strong, so precious, so impressionable, and you never run out of energy. Ever. If I had an ounce of your energy, I'd be the most productive woman on the planet. The challenge for me is figuring out how to help you harness and use your strengths and personality traits. You and I are pretty different from one another, so I'm challenged to think differently and do things differently on a daily basis. Despite our differences, we have become besties! You are momma's girl through and through, and I hope you always stay that way. I watched a little video about raising daughters the other day and mentioned that as a mom, you have the opportunity to raise your best friend. I certainly hope this is the case. Even though I'll always be your mother first and foremost, I hope that you'll always want to be my friend.
Your dad and I are learning more and more about parenthood as you teach us. You're the oldest child, you always will be, and so our first experience as parents will always come from you. The beauty of being the oldest is that all of the "firsts" will likely happen with you. The down side is that you'll probably feel like we're harder on you that your other future siblings. You'll probably think that we take it easy on them and that they always get what they want. There will be moments that life seems unfair, but our goal as your parents is not to make you happy, but rather to do what's best for you. And sometimes the thing that is best for you is the thing that will not make you happy.
We've recently come to our first case of dealing with something that makes you happy but isn't the best for you. You are growing up in an interesting time. You will never know life without technology, and primarily without smartphones. I grew up with technology, too, but it was very limited. We had a TV in our house but didn't have a computer until I was in junior high. Even then we had this thing called dial-up internet that was slow as molasses. You regularly lost connection, so it hardly made spending time on the computer worth it. I didn't have a cell phone until high school. It was just a phone. It did nothing other than make phone calls. And that was the great extent of technology until I started college. It was not an integral part of anyone's day. We all made do just fine. But you'll never know what it's like to be without a miniature computer in your hand, having access to the entire world. And the last thing I want is for you to have that access before it's absolutely necessary.
I probably sound out of touch with reality. You're probably thinking, "Come on, mom! This is how things are today. It's not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be." This won't be the first occasion you think or say this. I see a lot of little people your age glued to phones and iPads all the time. I know this is what "everyone else is doing." But I also know the damage that technology has done to our society. I see families who sit at tables in restaurants with their faces glued to screens rather than talking with one another. I see children who can't function without the constant entertainment and stimulation of some sort of game or movie. I see how relationships are negatively impacted and how people are losing the ability to connect with one another and have meaningful conversations. And I understand the addiction that is created by smartphones because they have become extensions of our hands. Mine included.
But you're a baby. You don't have a smartphone and you don't know how to work one. I do. And, trust me, it would be so much easier to just give you my phone to keep you occupied. It would buy me time to get things done. It would ease the burden of having to not be the one solely responsible for keeping you entertained. And one day when you're a mom, you'll see how tempting this is. Because the truth is, it would make my life so much easier to just give in. I am tired. I want breaks. I could use the help. And so this decision makes life a little harder on me. It requires more of me. And because I know that it's what's best for you, then I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to be the uncool, out of touch with reality mom.
It was a mistake from the start. It should have never happened. Babies don't need to depend on phones. I grew up learning how to entertain myself and play imaginary games with my friends and neighbors and I turned out fine. You will, too. And so I have to apologize for giving you a glimpse into the world of YouTube. For letting you learn those ridiculous songs on ABC Kid TV. I didn't think it was making that big of an impact until you began constantly saying, "ABC Kids, ABC Kids!" That's when I knew it was time to make a change, and so we went cold turkey. No more entertainment from phones. You didn't like it and cried and whined quite a bit at first, but now that we've been going strong for over a month, you've adjusted just fine. You rarely ask anymore, and you accept no as an answer. One day you will have a phone. One day you'll deal with the same struggle every other phone owner does. But it won't be anytime soon, and I hope that the decision we are making now better prepares you for that day when it finally comes.
I love you, Annabeth. In fact, I feel so strongly for you that I am not even sure the word love captures my true feelings. I want you to remember that. That I love you, I always will, and the decisions made on your behalf are done so out of love. I don't care what everyone else is doing. I'm not responsible for raising everyone else. I am responsible for you. You may not like me for it, but I hope you'll understand that I love you and that's why I'm doing it. Not so that your life will be easier, better, cooler, or more fun, but because it's what's best for you. And if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that I will always, always, always try to do what's best because that's what you deserve.
You are so smart, Annabeth. So, so, so, maybe too, smart! If I wrote down every cute, funny, and smart thing you say, I'd have a book the size of you! You do a great job clearly pronouncing words. The only challenge you have is that your Ls sound like Ys. It's adorable, especially now that you say, "I yove (love) you!" Your dad and I are amazed by you on a regular basis. Your little personality is so strong, so precious, so impressionable, and you never run out of energy. Ever. If I had an ounce of your energy, I'd be the most productive woman on the planet. The challenge for me is figuring out how to help you harness and use your strengths and personality traits. You and I are pretty different from one another, so I'm challenged to think differently and do things differently on a daily basis. Despite our differences, we have become besties! You are momma's girl through and through, and I hope you always stay that way. I watched a little video about raising daughters the other day and mentioned that as a mom, you have the opportunity to raise your best friend. I certainly hope this is the case. Even though I'll always be your mother first and foremost, I hope that you'll always want to be my friend.
Your dad and I are learning more and more about parenthood as you teach us. You're the oldest child, you always will be, and so our first experience as parents will always come from you. The beauty of being the oldest is that all of the "firsts" will likely happen with you. The down side is that you'll probably feel like we're harder on you that your other future siblings. You'll probably think that we take it easy on them and that they always get what they want. There will be moments that life seems unfair, but our goal as your parents is not to make you happy, but rather to do what's best for you. And sometimes the thing that is best for you is the thing that will not make you happy.
We've recently come to our first case of dealing with something that makes you happy but isn't the best for you. You are growing up in an interesting time. You will never know life without technology, and primarily without smartphones. I grew up with technology, too, but it was very limited. We had a TV in our house but didn't have a computer until I was in junior high. Even then we had this thing called dial-up internet that was slow as molasses. You regularly lost connection, so it hardly made spending time on the computer worth it. I didn't have a cell phone until high school. It was just a phone. It did nothing other than make phone calls. And that was the great extent of technology until I started college. It was not an integral part of anyone's day. We all made do just fine. But you'll never know what it's like to be without a miniature computer in your hand, having access to the entire world. And the last thing I want is for you to have that access before it's absolutely necessary.
I probably sound out of touch with reality. You're probably thinking, "Come on, mom! This is how things are today. It's not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be." This won't be the first occasion you think or say this. I see a lot of little people your age glued to phones and iPads all the time. I know this is what "everyone else is doing." But I also know the damage that technology has done to our society. I see families who sit at tables in restaurants with their faces glued to screens rather than talking with one another. I see children who can't function without the constant entertainment and stimulation of some sort of game or movie. I see how relationships are negatively impacted and how people are losing the ability to connect with one another and have meaningful conversations. And I understand the addiction that is created by smartphones because they have become extensions of our hands. Mine included.
But you're a baby. You don't have a smartphone and you don't know how to work one. I do. And, trust me, it would be so much easier to just give you my phone to keep you occupied. It would buy me time to get things done. It would ease the burden of having to not be the one solely responsible for keeping you entertained. And one day when you're a mom, you'll see how tempting this is. Because the truth is, it would make my life so much easier to just give in. I am tired. I want breaks. I could use the help. And so this decision makes life a little harder on me. It requires more of me. And because I know that it's what's best for you, then I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to be the uncool, out of touch with reality mom.
It was a mistake from the start. It should have never happened. Babies don't need to depend on phones. I grew up learning how to entertain myself and play imaginary games with my friends and neighbors and I turned out fine. You will, too. And so I have to apologize for giving you a glimpse into the world of YouTube. For letting you learn those ridiculous songs on ABC Kid TV. I didn't think it was making that big of an impact until you began constantly saying, "ABC Kids, ABC Kids!" That's when I knew it was time to make a change, and so we went cold turkey. No more entertainment from phones. You didn't like it and cried and whined quite a bit at first, but now that we've been going strong for over a month, you've adjusted just fine. You rarely ask anymore, and you accept no as an answer. One day you will have a phone. One day you'll deal with the same struggle every other phone owner does. But it won't be anytime soon, and I hope that the decision we are making now better prepares you for that day when it finally comes.
I love you, Annabeth. In fact, I feel so strongly for you that I am not even sure the word love captures my true feelings. I want you to remember that. That I love you, I always will, and the decisions made on your behalf are done so out of love. I don't care what everyone else is doing. I'm not responsible for raising everyone else. I am responsible for you. You may not like me for it, but I hope you'll understand that I love you and that's why I'm doing it. Not so that your life will be easier, better, cooler, or more fun, but because it's what's best for you. And if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that I will always, always, always try to do what's best because that's what you deserve.
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