Be Yourself.

If you're like me, you always open the fortune cookie. Do I eat the cookie? Not usually. But we all know it's not really about the cookie itself, it's about what's inside. Just a couple weeks ago we surprised the boys and met Eric for dinner one night. Upon receiving our bill at the end, of course came the cookies. The boys were excited to eat them but once they realized Mama was reading an important message, they were interested to see what their fortunes were too. While the messages written were a little complex, I decided to break it down in terms that they would be able to understand. I don't remember the exact phrase, but Mason's chopped up to, 'You are very brave!' and Owen's was along the lines of, 'Always be yourself!' They were pleased and mentioned their fortunes over the course of the night. Fast forward a couple weeks and there I am tucking the boys into bed last night when I said, "Owen, it's a little chilly tonight. Let me get you a shirt for bed." Mason quickly steps in, "But Mom, Daddy doesn't wear a shirt to bed!" And here's where Owen spoke up, "NO, Mason!! I can wear a shirt if I want to. Remember my fortune said BE YOURSELF!" Well, he told him now didn't he?

For starters, I was impressed that he still remembered his fortune and really took it to heart. But more importantly I was glad that he was using his voice! Not his actual 'voice', but his voice as in speaking up for himself and doing just what the fortune said, BEING himself. Owen loves loves loves his Daddy and as most little boys do, he has always wanted to be just like him. As of late we've been trying to boost his confidence a bit and remind him that being Owen is pretty awesome too! Instead of allowing him to say, "I wanna eat what Daddy eats!",  we'll ask Owen to choose first so that he has the opportunity to decide for himself. Other times when Owen speaks up Eric will encourage his choices or emphasize how it's neat that they like different things. I guess all our efforts are paying off because my big boy is finding his voice and is clearly not afraid to use it! 

Good job, Owie!