This Card Brought My Son and Me to Tears Easter Morning

I did something on Easter morning for my son Jake that I thought was nice but nothing an 8-year-old boy would give a second thought about. Boy was I wrong. 

The Easter Bunny came and left a basket full of candy, toys and a book about whales for Jake. He loves whales and wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up. He thinks. It sometimes changes from day to day like it does for most 8-year-olds.

I bought him a video game as an Easter present a day early. He had been wanting Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare for some time and after doing my research (playing it myself for hours) I found that it's the first online, first person shooter that is actually appropriate for kids his age. It's really a lot of fun too.

After the rush of the Easter Bunny's visit settled down, he went to use the bathroom, and while he was in there I placed a card I had bought for him on top of the Xbox controller. When he came out he grabbed it, thinking it was from his grandparents.

I watched him open the card as his face turned from a smile to sudden tears as he read what I wrote inside to him:

'I'm very proud of you and all the hard work you do in school and at home to be your very best! Love, Dad.'

He dropped the card, came running to me with tears flowing down his cheeks, wrapped his arms around me and said sobbing "I love you Dad." Of course that made me start crying, and it's making me start crying again as I write this.

I remember when I found out I was going to be a father. I didn't think I had it in me. My first thought was to call my mother for advice but she had just passed from her battle with cancer. I called my brother instead who had been at this father thing for a while and told him I have no idea how I'm going to do this.

He said, 'You'll figure it out. Don't worry.'

Knowing how much my son loves me and how much I mean to him was solidified with his reaction to reading my card. There's no doubt anymore.

You'd be proud of your grandson mom, and proud of me too. I figured it out.