My Buglette

Dear Daughter,

Papa tried his hand at a poem today, because it is your birthday. It is hard for a Papa to put into words the love that he has for his daughter. I hope I got something across.

Just know, you are the most special person in the world to me.

The Buglette

A wrinkled nose, ruddy and broad

Fingers so tiny, rice-grained nails,

Deep blue-green eyes, squinting;

Cotton-capped and swaddled in stripes.

I held you in the sun, to tinge the jaundice,

On my forearm, you slept, like a lemur.
Wrapped like a bug, snugly and calm.

My life changed forever, forever in a day.

The greatest gift for your birthday, you gave yourself,

You were born, my dear, dear child.

Seven years gone by, but I remember,

I remember the moment you made me a father.

I Love you,

Papa

A Very Special Bond

Dear Daughter,

Today is Papa's Birthday, but what is even more special is that we are celebrating yours as well with your friends in the park.

It is super special for Papa to share this day with you and I just want you to know how amazing my life is because you are part of it.

Though it is not your actual birthday (just one more week!), it is a bond that I am forever grateful for in my life.

Here is our Big Ben that we made the other day. A memory that will "stand in time".

I Love you,

Papa

Hello, from England

Dear Daughter,

Papa is in Cambridge in England, and I am in a wonderful cafe called the "Indigo," which as you know is the next to last color of the rainbow, visiting the University here to listen to an important person talk about some very weird stuff about our Universe in honor of a very important person Papa knew many years ago.

Cambridge is a beautiful city, with a river that runs along it, called the Cam. In fact, that is where the name comes from, it designated a Bridge over the River Cam, that someone decided long ago to call it the Cam-Bridge.

It is like the story about where the name Antwerpen may have come from that Papa likes to tell people. Remember the statue in the center that has Brabo throwing the hand of the giant Antinoos in the Schelde? That might be the origin of “hand werpen,” or to throw the hand in Dutch. But, nobody is really sure about that one.

This is also where Aunt Rachel went to school many years ago and maybe one day she can show you the college she went to as well.

I Love  You,

Papa

A Simple Lesson in Relativity

Dear Daughter,

Well, today we went to the dentist to have a cavity filled, and you were super. I was very proud of you and the dentist was too.

They had to numb your gum/cheek in order to fill the cavity, and the dentist told us that you could not eat for a while for fear of biting your cheek since you could not feel it.

As we were walking to the car, you asked me how long "a while" is and I said maybe a couple of hours. Within five minutes, you asked if your tooth was "still asleep," and I said, yes, it will still be a while.

It is hard to wait when something is so strange like your cheek being numb. You were not able to make a "Puh" or "Fuh" sound and that "while" seemed like it would never come. But, eventually, the numbness will go away, but it may seem like a lot longer than it actually is.

So, today, again, you learned a lesson in the Relativity of how Time "feels" to go slower when you are waiting.

I Love You,
Papa

Playing with Stones

Dear Daughter,

Papa recently found some really cool stores in Antwerp that we can go to that have lots of gemstones, just like the ones the Dale has in Amarillo and like the ones that we got in New Mexico!

Papa did not know about these stores, but luckily his friend did, so now we can go too. You will really like to see all of the amazing colors and sizes and types of stones. I bet you remember some of them too from Dale's collection.

Also, it taught Papa to always keep his eyes open when walking through the streets of a city because you never know what you might find when you look around.

I know you do, but sometimes Papa has to be reminded.

I Love You,
Papa

PS Don't worry, Papa got you something from one of the stores.

The White Trees

Dear Daughter,

So, we are back in Belgium after a nice visit to Texas and New Mexico to see friends and family. When we left, at bedtime, Papa was still telling you about the Autumn Fairies and how their work was almost done. They had painted all the leaves, pulled them off and rode them down to the ground like magic carpets. Then, at night, they had jumped and danced on the leaves, breaking them down into little pieces, until they became dirt and food for the trees themselves. They had made sure that all the animals who needed to hibernate had places to go, telling the birds and butterflies which direction to go, and cleaning out those nasty bear caves, because bears can be rather messy. And, all the other things we talked about the Autumn Fairies had to do to get ready for the Winter Fairies.

And, guess what? When we got back to Belgium, Winter was here! When we were going to school the other day, you were so excited to see the White Trees! They were beautiful. Just a month ago, those trees were golden, red, yellow, and even mauve, but now, they were coated in white.

So, looks like the Winter Fairies have been busy since we got back.

I Love You,

Papa 

Taking Your Time

Dear Daughter,

This Wednesday you and Papa went to Middelheim, the outdoor sculpture "museum" with all kinds of sculptures spread throughout the park.

We went there to have a picnic lunch and it was a beautiful day. The leaves looked like they were almost on fire and the sky was super blue.

After eating lunch we walked around with Papa's camera and you took a few pictures of your own. I was so impressed with how you took your Time to really frame each picture and did such a great job.

It's important to take you time and to do something right, rather than just rush through it and miss the moment. Thank you for helping me share that slowing down of Time as you took these pictures, being so careful to "get it right."

Not too shabby for a six-year old...

I Love You,
Papa