Two Months After Two Years

 Though Henry is too young to have a motto, I'm pretty certain that his has been "full steam ahead" since becoming a two-year-old.  I honestly do not know how I keep up with my boy and I humbly admit that I am not able to do it 24/7.  Thankfully, there are other members of this household who are prepared to step in when my aging locomotive self derails.  My boy is probably not much different than other boys his age: he runs, climbs, jumps, throws toys, pushes boundaries and wants very little to do with mealtimes.  He is vastly different at this age than Radha  was, though, and that's not a bad thing at all.  I'm constantly being reminded that each kid is different and that has to be what keeps a father bringing his A-game.

Thinking back on his birthday party, reminds me how different raising him has been.  Halloween is most certainly a time of frenzied activity for children (and their parents).  How could it not be, with the opportunities for dressing up and setting out to claim as much candy as possible?  Fitting in a birthday celebration and the required watching of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on top of that just meant later bedtimes for the whole family.  The excitement and joy on my children's faces was entirely worth it, though.

At this point, I'm willing to admit that my children are aging too fast.  Radha will be five-years-old tomorrow, and we will surely be reflecting more on our time with Ronan in the weeks ahead.  Shortly after that, a whole new chapter in my journey will begin as the second digit of my age resets to zero.  I started this year thinking how it was my faith and positive thinking that really pulled me through the toughest obstacles that I faced last year, and I would definitely be doing myself a favor by ensuring that those two armaments remain by my side as I will surely require them again.  "Loving my kids, loving my wife, loving my life" is going to be my motto going forwrd.  Here's to a new year of hope and possibilities for my family and myself.