It's mid-November but I'm still stuck thinking about the summer with you, Belle. You flourished so much in the last six months. I can't get over it.
I'm looking through pictures of you in the backyard. Drawing with chalk on the patio...
And err...you drawing on yourself 😂
You're quite the little artist! Like any young child - you love to create, imagine and pretend.
Do you know that your dad loves to create art, too? We're one and the same in that way.
But this? This is not me, Bella! I'm not sure how you'd describe this ensemble you're wearing. Bunny ears, fairy wings and a tutu? You're out of this world. You coordinate clothes and accessories like your Momma, so you better take that up with her! 😄
What else did we get up to this summer? Well, for starters we took you on a train ride to visit dad's work. Downtown Toronto.
Pretty boring, you thought, huh?
But this isn't your typical workplace. This place is a fun zone for creative-types like your old man. Why take the elevator in life when you can just take the slide?
Whatever your passion, Arabella, you can always find a place for yourself in this world. My thing happened to be creating art and graphic design, but it doesn't have to be your thing.
The best thing you can do for yourself in life is to get passionate about something - and chase it. Go after it. Eventually you'll find that the passion will morph into something real.
So if you want to be Minnie Mouse then go ahead and be Minnie Mouse - if that's who you want to be.
We'll love you and support you through everything you're passionate about.
Our cottage trip was probably the highlight of the summer for me. At the cottage everyone enjoys the fresh air, water and sunshine - the natural beauty that the wild North has to offer here in Canada.
For a brief moment it felt like heaven. It was bliss. It was where I broke away and listened to my own thoughts.
All of this open space had me thinking. Over-analyzing, I guess you could say. And I came to the realization that I can't keep holding onto you so tightly, Bella, because you need to slowly experience things on your own.
I need to come to grips with the fact that you're not a little baby anymore, and I need to push myself to challenge you more, in order to make you stronger and more independent.
It's no secret that you had a rough start to life. It's made your mom and I a bit too over-protective, but it's something we're trying to work through daily. It's a struggle sometimes.
I'm beginning to realize that as you grow up, I need to grow with you, too. I need to adapt with you, otherwise I'm only going to stand in your way. And I don't want to be a barrier in your life, Arabella. I don't want to ever get in the way of YOU.
If anything, I want to walk alongside you, or behind you, but never in front of you. Deep down I know that you have your own path that you need to carve out, and I better get myself mentally prepared for it.
I'm beginning to get it. I'm starting to see.
If you gotta jump, then jump! The least I can do is maybe catch you, or be there to help you get back on your feet.
Bella, we're both learning so much from one another lately. In the same way I learn from my parents - and they learn from my brother and I.
We're always learning and adjusting ourselves, aren't we? We never stop. We're always rewriting what it means to be a family, what it means to love a spouse, what it means to be a parent, what it means to be a child.
Sometimes love is gained. Sometimes love is lost. Sometimes people are in our lives, and sometimes *POOF*...just like that, they're gone.
It's a crazy world we live in, don't you think? Life is so precious and fragile, but you don't realize it until something (or someone) wakes you up.
Bella, you certainly woke me up. And I'm so glad that you did.
