An Open Letter to my daughter, Sophia

Sophia, there are about 41 different posts/threads where I mention you. I’m first going to list the topics – generally, these are discussions about you in one form or another. These will be in date order:

Oh, and if you want to reply – you gotta register!

Thoughts upon my daughter’s first month, November 2001, my first thread about you. If you were going to register and bump a thread, this would be the one to bump.

Driving With Baby, where your Dad shows his cluelessness. Hey, I survived! :stuck_out_tongue:

My two year-old won’t say her name. Every kid has their power struggle, this was yours at this time.

A Letter to my child’s Kindergarten Teacher – Your Opinions Please. Not one of my better moments came to be one of my better moments. I was upset at your kindergarten teacher over something which is now (and was then) irrelevant to your long-term development… but it’s hard to see that in the moment, Sophia. Fortunately, before I executed Plan Rant, I put the rant on here and the kind people of the SDMB talked me off that ledge.

Gallifrey 23 thread, our first Gallifrey. This is the Gallifrey where you made the soaps and lotions and sold them door to door, raising about $50, $70.

Gallifrey 24. This had the tour of Ignition Creative, where you met the people in charge of marketing for a number of films, including a Jack and the Beanstalk movie where you were given control of the production board to change the color of 1 flower which appeared on the screen for about 2 seconds. They offered you a job and I expect them to honor their promises. :slight_smile:

Your Christmas Shopping Tragedies and Success, or, My Hobbit Adventure. Remember the hobbit hole you had on your wall? This is the story of how it came about.

Educators I got some good news about my daughter and I’m having trouble believing it. Another one where your Dad got it wrong, effectively I was surprised at your reading score given how little you read.

Glow Up.

News Story About my Daughter CAN SOMEONE PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO FOR ME???

Sophia’s College Tour. It’s pretty much as the title says – your college tour from last summer (2019).

College COVID Letter. Remember that email I sent to St John’s (and the other schools) last March, asking them their COVID plans? I posted it here, too, asking for comments. Some were complaining about my parenting style- thoughts?

Our COVID College Conundrum. About the struggle it was to get you enrolled, registered, quarantined, and etc.

All right, that was it for the threads. If you read through them, great! If you want to respond, go ahead: register and respond!

The next links will be to direct posts in threads started by other people. For most of these, you will only have to read the linked post to find what I said about you, your education, your activities, etc. Again, they will be in chronological order – I just figured that made the best sense from a reading perspective.

When you were 2 years old, you played Hide and Seek with a cast member from Buffy the Vampire Slayer at a comic con in Cleveland, OH.

Your first movie-going experience, at the age of 2.

My thoughts on being your Dad at the age of four. As you can tell, I was all in. In the same thread, there is also this post.

Your love of film started early. When you were three, you saw 13 movies in the theater. Hell, Sophia, I wasn’t taken to my first movie until I was 7. And I had to walk in the snow! Uphill! Both ways!

OMG, Sophia, it’s the ET story!

Your mother and I had a different approach to your schooling than Aunt Beth had for her kids’. This might be a bit eye-opening to you, seeing how other kids were educated.

LOL, you’re not going to like this one: Ways your kids are currently driving you insane. The talking did get better, tho.

Someone asked how being a parent changed your life, I just turned my response into a Sophia Compliment Post

So, Sophia, are you smart because your parents raised you to be smart or because you have “smart” genes? Fuck all if I know, kid.

LOL, at the age of ten you identified the Wilhelm Scream.

Didja ever wonder why you weren’t into sports? It was pretty much a decision made by your mother and me to steer you away from them.

Ahhhh, here is where I recounted a bit of how you made money for one of the Gallifrey’s

Remember that time that you and Angelica (from 4 doors down) asked me to write something… and I found out I forgot how to write? LOL!

Sophia, like I advised in this post, I was thinking about your future college education at the age of 4. Hell, 1.

LOL, that period of time you refused to comb your hair.

You’ll like this one! Sophia’s sense of humor.

Your 6th-grade assignments could be intense

Some more thoughts on education! (you were 12)

We should probably talk about this one. There’s a reason why we’ve always been supportive of your artistic visions and dreams, Sophia, and this little post touches on that.

Remember when we sat down and calculated how much you cost on a daily basis? And how you reacted, by shrugging and making your own money? You are very good with money, Sophia, and part of the reason why is because we never made it a mystery: Shit costs, effort earns, and that’s that.

Your generation consumes music in a manner completely different from ours, and I have zero problem admitting you know more music than I ever did at any given time in our lives. At 8, you knew more music than I did at 8. At 16, exponentially more than 16yo me.

Work Ethics, Sophia, and Dad.

One of the rare joys of parenting is when your kid is old enough to share something with her, one that you couldn’t share before because of subject matter, emotional unawareness, etc. I was thrilled, Sophia, that we were able to see a first night showing of a Quentin Tarantino film.

I love you Sophia. And there will be more posts, more threads, because… as I said in that very first post, about my thoughts when you were a month old… because you are still the most fascinating person on this planet to me and, I’m sure, your mother.

Loves!