In the month of November, I’m meditating on my gratitude for something different each day.

Well this one shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Today, I’m thankful for Aidan. Honestly, I am everyday.

He’s so very thoughtful, compassionate, insightful, silly, and adventurous. I could extrapolate on all his virtues, however to avoid sounding like a braggart and make this post more personal to him, I’ve written an open letter to him. So here you go:

An Open Letter of Admiration to Aidan

Aidan/Bear/Munchkin/other-embarrassing-nicknames-here,

I know, it’s weird that I’m writing to you when I see you everyday. But, I wanted you to be able to look back at this whenever you wished.

I’m writing to tell you how thankful I am to have you in my life. Anyone is lucky to have you. I’m even luckier that you’re my son.

I admire you so much. You are seriously awesome. I think you’re the coolest kid.

I love how open and honest you are about your feelings. I know I’ve told you this before, but I really do think it’s so brave! It sounds so easy to be honest about how we feel, but for most people it’s really difficult. We get scared of having our feelings hurt, so we hold back. I know you are very sensitive and you get scared too, but you say how you feel anyways. That is incredibly courageous.

You are so kind and compassionate. I’ve seen you care greatly about people you don’t even know. Even when you were four you’d worry if a kid walking down the street had someone to take care of him. What you did with charity:water, all on your own at 8 years old, is really special. It’s not just people you care for either. I’ve seen you feel for animals being hurt, even the ones that no one else likes because they weren’t cute. (Remember the wasps’ nest you didn’t want removed?)

You’re so thoughtful. I could give you endless examples, but I’ll just give you a quick one. The other morning I was sneezing like mad. When we were at the store that evening, you ran off to the drug aisle and came back with a box of Claritin for me. I didn’t even remember we needed it, but you did. The little things like remembering medicine, picking flowers, drawing pictures… those are what shows you are thoughtful. Your thoughtfulness makes you more than a great son. It makes you a great friend, and one day it will make you a great partner for a very lucky woman or man.

You are so silly, and you have this fabulous twisted sense of humor. Like me, you’re a goofball. You’re not goofy all the time, though. Aidan, you’re what we call pensive, which means you think a lot. You’ve been known to come up with some absurdities, but more often you reach into some internal book of wisdom and launch one out there. Your insights have made us all think and on occasion, made us teary-eyed. That is a fantastic gift.

I admire how adventurous you are. You surprise me with how willing you are to try new things, and it makes me want to do the same. I want to climb up rocks and hike with you. I can’t wait for the day we go sky-diving and bungee jumping. You asked me if I’d summit a mountain with you. I don’t know how, but if you’re serious, I would do it. We have many trips ahead of us, now that you finally have your passport. You always slow me down a bit when we travel and that’s a good thing.

Ok, so this is getting long, but last thing before I sign off…

I know you’re sensitive, and like the rest of us, you sometimes worry that you’re different or you’ll stand out in the wrong way. I hope you realize as you get older that the ways you stand out are fan-frigging-tastic. The best people in the world are weirdos who just came into their own. All the people you love? We were all made fun of, geeky, and weird. All of us. It’s cheesy as hell, but you have to be your own best friend. When you do that – when you’re sure of who you are or, at least, that who you are is okay – you’ll find your tribe. Or, they’ll find you. Stay open. Stay tolerant. Stay kind. And, above all things, stay true.

You make me proud, kid. I’m so thankful to be your mom.

Love you always,

Mom