Dear Mac

My boy, Mac!

Welcome to our family, my little man. We are so happy you are here. Your Mommy and I talked for months before you were born about all the fun we wanted to have with you once you arrived.

Audrey wasn’t exactly sure what to think about a little brother at first, but you’ve quickly become best friends and sometimes Mommy and I think that you like her a little more than us… which is totally fine. I think.

My little son, ever since Mommy told me that you would be joining our family, I haven’t been able to stop daydreaming about the kinds of things that we might do together. Your mom is afraid of all the trouble we’ll get in together.

You are such a big hit, Mac. Your aunties and uncles and gramas and grampas love your happy smile and silly squeaks! They nearly knock each other over, fighting for the chance to get to hold you and play with you!

I want the world for you. I wish so much. I wish for you to be safe, capable, and caring. I want your hard work to be rewarded with all that you will deserve. I hope that you will find ways to make life better for the people you know and the people you don’t; that you will see suffering and find a way to relieve it. I want you to be kind and for others to be kind to you.

We are going to have so much fun together. I’m excited to share with you all of the things that I love. I’m even more excited to love all of the things that you will love. Fair warning, I don’t know too much about cars or woodworking or other “dude” things, but I’ll do my best to pass on what I know and we can learn together. Deal? Deal.

More than any of these things that I want, like I want for your sister, is for you to love yourself and to be loved for who you are, no matter what other people may have in mind for how your life will turn out.

And, like I did with Audrey, I’ll end this note with a quote from your future favorite book, Harry Potter:

You are so loved.

Welcome to Earth.

Love,
Daddy.

PS – A note on Mac’s name.

I’m a bit of a geek for family history and heritage. Allison and I chose a name that would be significant in that regard.

We wanted a name from the historic British Isles, as that is a significant region for both our ancestries. We went through Irish and Scottish names to find any that resonated with family. Allison’s great-uncle was named Newell McCarroll Snarr, but affectionately known as, “Mac.” His B-17 Flying Fortress was shot down over Germany in 1945.

Mac means, “son” in Gaelic, so we felt it natural to name him Mac James. My dad has the same initials, MJD, and I’m angling hard for my kid to inherit his Grampa’s initialed things in a few decades 😉