On Your Fifth Birthday
Dear Nolan,
It is your Fifth Birthday! Congratulations on this huge mile stone! This has been a huge year for you. Nathan Barnatt continues to be your hero, and you danced like him on Halloween, spiked the football, and ran away from the lion.
But Mr. Marston has become your new hero; so it has certainly been the year of Red Dead Redemption. If you recall back in February, late at night, I helped you get Mr. Marston on the train and you were hooked. Slowly but surely you went from riding horses and trains, to killing fools and reciting the script from the game from memory. You rescued Mr. Dickens plenty of times, and you liberated Ridgewood Farm and showed me that you can easily complete the level by shooting the very top of the hostage taker in the head from the bottom floor through the stairs– this was an amazing demonstration of your intelligence as I would have never thought to do this. Red Dead Redemption also taught you your first curse word and you take any opportunity to tell us that “Damn Map” is a bad word. We have Seth to thank for that, but he did make you laugh and laugh when he was disappointed to discover his treasure was a glass eyeball.
You and I had many adventures at the Swap Meet, and other places, and you discovered a new friend. Kayla and Noah continue to be your comrades at school, and Ms. Davis swears you are doing great. You kicked the bus driver and read some words on your own including Exit, Mario, and SEGA. You can also count to 100, write your name without help, and you know your address as 1328 Nolan’s House.
As a kid, I’d ask to watch TV, but you ask to watch Netflix. You also ask for PBSKids, and StarFall. Curious George has been in heavy rotation but so has The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Super-Why has been your preferred show as of late, even though you call Wyatt “Quiet”.
Together we watched the coverage of the death of OBL, and the Japan Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Disaster. When the PlayStation Network went down and I had to hear about it non-stop for 14-20 hours a day every day for months it was comforting that you didn’t care. But you still let me rehearse the Quarterly Business Reviews with you, and we listened to Fantomenk on the way to school.
You got sick for months, and gave blood work for the first time. You told the phlebotomist that she broke you, and you helped me paint your wagon. You asked to watch Two Mules for Sister Sarah, and we celebrated the life of THE MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE by making a Macho Man hat together. We made and put out campfires, made tents out of tarps and sheets, and watched your first movie in the theater – Winnie the Pooh, and we went to your first baseball game together.
You love to make pudding, and you expect dollars every day. You went nuts over balloons and got a Mickey Mouse TV. When you’re lazy you claim you need help, and when you’re upset you ask us to walk away from you. I asked you what your name was, and where you were from and you said Baltimore! You’ve come to prefer showers, and you want your own bottle lotion. You wanted Scissors for Christmas and an Umbrella for your birthday.
I don’t know what will come your way this year, but I hope it is filled with adventure, fun, and love (and maybe Kung-Fu classes).
Love you,
~Daddy
