I know I did a whole post with pictures of wrestling already so this is just a post with picture of him actually receiving his letter.
It seems like I should have a few more words to go with this post so here goes. You know how people will sometimes comment in a negative way about parents living vicariously through their children? I realize in practice that can go wrong and be a bad thing but as I sat with the idea of Jake's letter afterward I felt a little like I was living vicariously through my son. Like all the things I wished I had done in high school but didn't know how to or didn't have the confidence to, he is doing. I love watching my son do things I never would have done and seeing what it is like from this side of the high school experience.
I suppose there are people out there who felt like high school was great, they did it all right and they want their children to have the exact same experience they had. Good for them. For the rest of us I think we want to see our children do more, experience more, be more. I didn't just want Jake to get better grades than me, be more athletic than me, achieve more, getting into better colleges, have a better social life. I wanted Jake to pursue his passions, believe he could do anything he wanted and not be afraid to reach for them, to just enjoy himself in that uninhibited way you can enjoy yourself as a child before the responsibilities of adulthood come along. If while pursuing his passions opportunities to achieve came along I wanted him to learn to reach for the top and not settle for good enough.
What has been fun about helping Jake reach higher and achieve is that it has taught me a lot about myself. I see in him the same excuses and weaknesses I see in myself. As I have pushed him I have learned to push myself. And as I have seen him believe and achieve I am learning to believe in myself and believe I can achieve success in my endeavors.
So yes, I am living vicariously through my son and I could not be prouder of both of us.
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