Pound for Pound: A fourth letter

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, October 8, 2024

My daughter Norah will turn 3 years old next week. At her birth and every year around her birthday I’ve written a letter to her as a way to shamelessly stash memories and give her something to look back on when she’s older. I hope y’all will indulge me as I continue what’s become an annual tradition.

Dear Norah,

Young, wild, and 3. I cannot believe it’s been that long since my and your mother’s five-day, four-night staycation at the local hospital where you were born. And I mean staycation. We did not sniff the outdoor air until we left the hospital that cool Sunday morning as the nurse helped us put you in your carseat for the first time.

The 1,095 days since your arrival seem to have flown by. Just yesterday our lives were an endless cycle of milk, naps and changing diapers. Now, you can swim in the lake or pool with a life jacket. You’re going to school three half-days a week. That’s one more day than last year, which isn’t the only change. You were lucky to have your mom as one of your teachers last year. She’s still with the babies while you’ve moved up with the toddlers. It was a tough transition those first few weeks, you going to a separate class from your mom. But I think we’ve gotten through it (knock on wood). Last month, I started writing the word ‘brave’ on your hand to remind you that you can do hard things. I believe it’s made a difference. Either that or letting you take your stuffed fox Joe with you every day.

Speaking of school, it’s a word you couldn’t even say just last year. You called it ‘cools.’ Now, you don’t mispronounce much at all. Only words that immediately come to mind are ‘chesherday’ (yesterday) and ‘mawn rower’ (lawn mower). Remind me to show you the video that explains why the lawn mower is discussed so often in our house. It’s a good one.

You’re singing your ABC’s extremely well. We’ve just got to get you past the habit of singing ‘Q, R, S, Y, and Z.’ I know T, U, V, W, nor X are in your first name, but I promise they will come in handy someday.

You’ve yet to sit through a whole movie, but you do have several TV shows you love. I’m grateful we’ve found ‘Spidey and His Amazing Friends.’ I’ll honestly take just about anything with an actual plot. After more than a year, YouTube star Blippi can kick rocks.

Now for our annual sports update. Georgia last year was wrongfully kept out of the four-team playoff. A three-peat was almost a certainty had Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide not played spoiler in the SEC Championship. This year, the Dawgs seem poised to get into what is now a 12-team playoff field. At this rate, by the time you reach college we’ll have a full-on March Madness bracket to determine the college football national champion. Also, regionality doesn’t seem to matter any more when it comes to conferences. Just last weekend the University of California, located on the Pacific coast, played Miami in an Atlantic Coast Conference game. Yeah, I know it doesn’t make sense.

And for some fatherly wisdom, I mentioned Alabama spoiling UGA’s 2023 season. Well, two Saturdays ago the Bulldogs went to Tuscaloosa and played the worst half of football I’ve ever seen and still only lost by seven points. They never gave up, which is a characteristic I hope to instill in you.

Another piece of advice as you seek to do your best in school, sports, or work – what ever stage of life you’re in as you’re reading this – from the philosopher Kirby Smart: “Humility is just a week away.” Said more fancifully: “Pride cometh before the fall.” Which is a lesson Alabama learned just last Saturday in losing to Vanderbilt. Remember the Tide’s example as you go through life. At least now we can say they gave us something other than heartbreak.

Love,

Dad