February 28, 2016

Dear Baby,

I’m sitting with your dad watching the Academy Awards red carpet and forcing him to analyze dresses with me. He’s a good sport. 

Leonardo Dicaprio. What can’t he do (aside from win an Oscar, as of yet). Leo is basically 100% a part of my sexual awakening as a teen. Basketball Diaries and ROMEO AND JULIET. For gosh sakes, he was fucking ROMEO (plus Clare Danes, I die for her pre- Carrie Matheson cry face- My So Called Life. Yes please). 

So, ya. Leo. Love him, Baby. 

He’s nominated this year and just did his red carpet interview and thanked his mom for believing in his dreams and letting him audition for Hollywood back when he was a little kid. 

There is something amazing about a parent who indulges the dreamy wishes of their kid. I think “I want to be a famous actor” is something that many kids have said. I know I said it. But to be taken seriously is a whole other ballgame. 

I felt pretty moved by this comment. Like, if Leonardo Dicaprio’s parents hadn’t taken a chance on their little peanut, I wouldn’t have had the chance to swoon over my VHS (what’s that, you ask). 

I think often- with the best intentions, of course- parents impose their wants onto their children. Like, if you had always wanted to take ballet you might really want your kid doing pirouettes. If you hated piano, you might never want to torture your kid with Chopsticks. 

Me, I’ve always thought that you should do some kind of sport since I didn’t and now I don’t know how to run and I’m not allowed on my friend’s little league baseball team. True story. 

But the truth is, Baby you should do you. All us parents need to simmer the fuck down and step back to really hear what you want and take a good long look to see who you really are. 

The bigger message here today is to try and really listen to people around you. We get so caught up in our own bullshit and if we take the time, we can really help to nurture great things around us. Yes, as a parent, this is SUPER FUCKING IMPORTANT. But also as a human. 

So with that I promise to try my hardest to let you tell me what you want and to try and help you make all your dreams come true so that one day you can recall as fondly as Leo did tonight how your mother gave you the tools to reach for the stars. 

xo

Mom