Goodnight Moon

Dear JJ,

Tomorrow night you will be home.

Before you go to bed we will outside - where you will look up and point at the moon. Then as we go inside you will stop, turn and say, "goodnight moon."

Being a dad is the best job I ever had.

Love,

Dad

Home soon

Dear JJ,

Whenever I am away, or you are away - I miss you.

I recall this from the first Sunday I played golf after  you were born. The entire round of golf I thought of my son. The day after you were born I had a couple of operations scheduled - the patients said they had never seen me smile so much - and even though I had spent the entire night after you were born just watching you, I didn't have a tired bone in my body, and couldn't get rid of the smile on my face.

Your third birthday is coming up soon, son. I am glad you will be with me to celebrate it.

Being a dad - it is the greatest club I have ever belonged to.  Oh- and I miss your mom too - without her there would be no you, and no us - and your mom is amazing. Someday you will see that before you she had this amazing life in something called TV - being an executive producer.  But she loves being a mom - and no one of her friends or family would have believed it.

Ok, come home soon and safe - Lucky and I miss you guys.

Love,

Dad

Your dad loves  holding your hand.

Happy Birthday George

Dear JJ,

Today is your grandfather's 70th birthday. You get to spend it with him, and that means a lot to him.

When your mom and I knew we were pregnant with you, I had a little chat with him. He was visiting your Uncle Bob and Aunti Kim in Atlanta over Thanksgiving.  We went for a walk, sat down in the woods and I asked him about his experience as an older father.

He and Gigi adopted Peter in his early 50's.  He told me that having another child in his 50's was the last thing in the world he was thinking of, but when it happened it is the best thing in the world. Now he and Peter are best friends, and their lives are so much better.

So I waited, then told him, "Well, I wanted to know because I am going to be a father for the first time, at age 53, and that means you are going to be a grandfather. And it wasn't an accident, it was planned."

He looked at me, smiled and said, "So, I gather you are serious about this between you and April."

George (you call him Papa) has become a great friend of mine. He is an early bird like we are - and we get to have that time to chat and enjoy watching you.

One of my other favorite memories is when you were just home from the hospital, about six days old. Your mom was exhausted from feeding you. He and I were up in your room and you were crying. I put my finger in your mouth and your mouth was dry.  I didn't want to wake up your mom, so I found a bottle of formula from the hospital and you drank it down and went back to sleep.  I was worried that the breast feeding mafia would picket the house. But you did just fine, and your mom got sleep - and I looked at George like a fellow co-conspirator, "I guess he is going to be alright, I'll tell April when she gets up." Your mom, needless to say, was quite happy about it.

You have a lot of people in your life who are special son - and today is the day to enjoy him.

Love,

Dad

From Today- you and George at their Cottage in Cobourg 

My best all-nighter

Dear JJ,

Your daddy has had a lot of "all nighters" where I have stayed up all night.  Some because of being a doctor, some for fun. Most of the time when you are up all night - for whatever the reason, the next day is not a fun day.

The best all-nighter was the day you were born. You were born at about 4 pm, and your mom and I stayed up the entire night after just looking at you.  The next day was the best day after an all-nighter.

Thanks for making me a dad,

Love,


Dad

Our best day - our best all night - and the best keeps coming

Birthday for a friend

Dear JJ,

When you are a new dad suddenly you realize how much you have to learn.  It is a great thing when friends come by who have had kids and reassure you that - yup, that is normal, and help you realize that you don't have to be uptight.

Shortly after you came home, two good friends of ours came by - they had their son about 20 years before you were born. They were calming, reassuring and it meant a lot to this new dad.

I thought about it because today he is having a birthday.  Someday you may be faced with fatherhood - and I would love to be around to see it- but never forget, you will have a lot of friends who will have been through it, and they love to help.

Oh, and don't forget their birthdays- today is his, Evo.

Thank you Evo and Sheila - you meant a lot to this new dad - and mean a lot to JJ


Love,

Dad

Mother's Day 2013

Dear JJ,

When I met your mother she was a TV producer. A lady who made it to the top in a world where almost everyone wants to be a star, on television, or have a show. She had syndicated several successful television shows, could spot talent a mile away, and had to fend off an endless supply of  people who had "an idea" or "a pitch."

Before I met your mom, if you ask anyone who worked with her they would have said the last thing she would be was a mom - even if you ask her mom.

While people don't change, son, there is one truth - in our finite capacity as human beings, there is more than can be expressed.

What was inside your mom, but not expressed -- a great mom.

Sometimes when I come home you two don't hear me walking in the door- and I see the two of you playing outside: what I see is pure joy- on you and your mom's face. Your mom loves you, loves being a mom - and feels amazingly fortunate to be so.

Seeing your mom in action, knowing how hard it is to keep up with a 2.8 year old, made me appreciate more my mom. I think back to the many times my mom would make food for the school class, play with us, help us- and now as a grandmother, sees her grandson and smiles - no doubt thinking back to those days.  When my mom first met you she held you easily, put a pacifier in your mouth - and your mom said, "like riding a bike,  you never forget how to be a mom."

You are lucky, JJ - you have a great mom. I am lucky to have a great mom - oh, and your mom's mom - Gigi - well, it is hard to describe what an amazing person she is.

To mom's everywhere - I have a great respect for them - but to your mom, JJ, and mine, and your mom's - well- you are lucky, we both are.

Love,

Dad

Your first ride on a see-saw with your Mom - in France

She taught you how to say "cheers"

She taught you to love snow

And Grandma and Grandpa Simpson's waiting patiently for dinner

Seeing new animals at the zoo

She won't toss you away, but she will toss you in the pool

You love her

She will take you for a ride in Hawaii

With Grandma and Grandpa Simpson - not always easy this life

And you can't wait for her to get back, so you try to get her

Your own Gigi - 

Playing on the beach in Alaska

And building - always building

Mother's Day Dinner - with our best

Where it Began

Dear JJ,

It all started in Tampa, an invitation to a dinner at some fellow twitter foodies, and meeting your mother.  Today we made the reservations to go back there - where you were first an idea, where we felt you first move when your mom was pregnant (it was during a the hockey when Canada won gold).

The invitation was to Barry and Debbie Frangipane's home for a dinner. And on June 15th  - she will open a restaurant, and you will be there. Somehow, it seems fitting.  This will be your first trip to Tampa, hard to believe- but its almost four years ago that your mom and I met there, and almost three years since you were born.

There are a lot of people who are looking forward to seeing you - a lot of aunties and uncles - and your dad will be there smiling the entire time. I can't wait to bring you there .

Love,

Dad

Packing the salmon I would bring to Tampa in 2009. 

A short while later your mom and I decided, in Seattle, that we were going to do this

A photo taken by your mom the night we met. It became the cover for one of  my books