A letter to my boy at camp.

ben camp

(And just in case my writing was a bit sloppy, here it is typed out…)

My boy…You were so very brave when we dropped you off. Two weeks away from home is a big deal and the magnitude of your undertaking is not lost on us. It’s been 5 days now and I want to write you a letter that explains how much I miss you, how proud I am of you and how I think about you every single day. I want to write and tell you that tears are not a sign of weakness, they are a symbol of your sensitivity. I want to write that there is no way I could have gone to camp on my own at only 9, without knowing anyone else, and that I admire your courage. I want to tell you that there will be nice people and mean people and that you have the strength to know the difference. That freedom from your parents is a great thing, that it’s ok to be scared and that with risk can also come reward. Challenge yourself. Question yourself. Have fun. Instead, I wrote a postcard detailing the weather and I can only hope that reading between the lines, you’ll know I love you and think you’re awesome.

And please click on the following link to see a sketch I created when my daughter went to camp: I wanted to tell you…

Just so-so…

so so

Heroic Girls – Part 2

heroic Last week I posted a sketch that was inspired by John Marcotte’s website, Heroic Girls. John has kindly give “The Art of Dad” a shout out on his site and I invite you to have a look at the great work he’s doing if you haven’t seen it already! Thanks John, keep it up!

Heroic girls

ellie doll

The other day I heard an interview on a local radio station with John Marcotte, the founder of heroicgirls.com talking about the lack of female heroes in popular culture. He spoke about how it’s incredibly hard to find a toy of Black Widow from the Avengers, on her own, while all the male heroes have a multitude of toy options. I got thinking about that and it inspired the card I made for our daughter who just turned 12. This is what I wrote on the back of the card to her:

We live in a world that loves heroes. We wrap them up and package them for others to buy because in many ways we want to be like them, heroes standing up for what’s right. Fighting for good over evil. Having some kind of super power. Well, if I could, I’d make and wrap up millions of you and give them out to kids around the world because you embody the characteristics that so many people strive for. Honesty. Fairness. Compassion. You make us laugh. You make us proud. You possess wisdom beyond your years and a humour that bonds people together. And all that after just 12 years. Happy Birthday to the most real superhero I know.

Shield your eyes

Just found this one that I’d forgotten about from our Mexico trip.

shieldeyes

You’ve done this, I know you’ve done this…

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crazy talkin'

The power of the mind… and vocabulary…

telescopic memory

I honestly didn’t know how to respond to this one.

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arsepills

Embarrassing Dad

embarassing dad(The really nice thing about this was when she saw this sketch, she gave me a hug and said “Don’t worry dad, you’ll never embarrass me.”)

(And she didn’t notice I spelled embarrassing incorrectly, twice! How embarrassing.)