Potential

As you've maybe gathered by now, I do an awful lot of thinking about Dash: how to parent him, how others see him, how he sees himself, and what kind of man he will grow into.

Josh & I do what we can on our end to ensure he grows into a self-assured and responsible citizen of the Earth. We talk a lot about stewardship of the planet and about the Golden Rule. We set limits, but not arbitrarily and not solely to serve our convenience. We talk talk talk as much as we can about everything. We run and jump with him and make sure to tell him 50, 100, 1,000 times a day how much we love him. I read articles about how to raise a self-reliant child. I talk to him endlessly about possibility and trying and the lessons of failure. I want so desperately to see him live up to his potential. To exceed it, even.

Because Josh & I were both rather timid children, much too worried about failure, we didn't take enough risks. Not that we mind--we both absolutely love our quiet little life in our happy little house. But I want more for Dash. I want him to be absolutely fearless. I want him to take huge risks and I want him to fail spectacularly--so that he'll know that failure isn't ever the very worst thing. I want him to strive for the best schools, I want him to join the debate team and compete in the academic decathlon. I want him to play sports. I want him to put himself out there and do his very best and fuck the haters.

I want Dash to save the world. To cure cancer. To make important things with his hands and his brains. To be the greatest athlete the world has ever seen. To be President of the United States of America. Or just even maybe an accountant. But the very, very best one. I want him to know that every option is available to him. I want him to pursue his dreams recklessly.

I want to teach him that his life is one of unlimited possibility. Now I just need to figure out how.