Pax

Jack and I just finished one of the best books I’ve ever read. You all have enough time right now. Go buy “Pax”.
“It's a Buddhist concept. Nonduality. It's about oneness, about how things that seem to be separate are really connected to one another. There are no separations...This is not just a piece of wood. This is also the clouds that brought the rain that watered the tree, and the birds that nested in it and the squirrels that fed on its nuts. It is also the food my grandparents fed me that made me strong enough to cut the tree, and it's the steel in the axe I used. And it's how you know your fox, which allowed you to carve him yesterday. And it's the story you will tell your children when you give this to them. All these things are separate but also one, inseparable. Do you see?”
-Sara Pennypacker, Pax

It’s a kids book but literally a life changing and deep story.

My Jack is 8

I’m late. Like 2 months. But I finally wrote my birthday letter to Jack.
Jack. My sweet, frustrating, and lovable Jack. I can’t believe you are 8 years old. The last year you have grown so much! You are the most curious person I know. You love to learn about how things work and why.
You love to be with your people- I think that’s the thing I discovered most this year. Your love language is quality time. I never realized the huge impact a ten or twenty minute one-on-one section of time could have on a person. You need the interaction to feel loved and valued. I really love being able to do things with you. I love going to your class on Thursday mornings- getting to see you in a different light and watching how that part of your life affects you as a little person.

Some of my favorite memories from the last year...
•we visited the Henry Ford- you inspected the trains, you evaluated the inventions. It made me so happy to watch you learn.
•we climbed that huge hill/little mountain in the fairy glen on the isle of Skye. It was magic. We discovered our strength. We encouraged each other. And on that day you discovered that you liked adventure and risk- it’s honestly one of my very favorite and proudest memories. Of my entire life.
•you found out you love jumping off the diving board
•that time you took me into the corn field next to the house on Marlette Road. It was so exciting for you to have followed a “pod of quail” into the secret room.
•every post Malone song we love (and I pretend to not approve of).
•how we worked thru anxiety in the Dublin airport.
•every time you took the time to make sure vivi knows you love her.
•the rare (but increasing) moments when you and Jamie are very best friends.
•the way we have fallen in love with all books by Mac Barnett.
•you still call me “momma”
•the way we soberly read about grey’s death in the book Pax.
•the way you beg for “one more chapter”.
•the way you want me to still let you fall asleep in my bed on Saturday nights.
You make me want to be a better person. I want everything for you. I want you to know that no means no. I want you to know that you aren’t the center of the universe. I want you to know that kindness can’t be faked, money doesn’t buy taste, and you don’t need to be everyone’s friend. I want you to travel. I want you to care about the earth. I want you to respect others and to know your worth. Be kind. Be brave. Be vulnerable. Live a life you’re proud of and don’t ever stop dreaming.
Happy 8th birthday. I love you always.
Momma