My son, Reach for the Stars!

My son, Just do the best you can in your life. Mommy and Daddy love you and will do all we can to help you and we trust in you that you will always try your best. I speak to you as a father and as one of your biggest supporters. I know you have challenges ahead of you and I can't promise you everything will be as you hope it will but I can tell you that if you trust in yourself and you always try your best and you seek the help of others then things seem to have a way of falling into place. I have learned many things in my own life and I have experienced life's highs and lows and I can only offer to you my own perspective in how I deal with both. As your father I always worry for your safety and your happiness. I want to see you smile and enjoying your life. When I see you looking troubled I feel very sad and it breaks my heart.

I know that our lives aren't perfect and we all have our worries and concerns. I understand this very much and I have felt the same feelings you sometimes feel. After all we are human and sometimes we have moments where we feel that things seem a bit difficult and we sometimes feel like giving up. Believe me, I know those feelings and I would be the first one to tell you that most everyone feels like this from time to time.

When I would withdraw and prefer to be alone as a kid I remember my mom would sit with me and chat and help me talk through what was troubling me. I found that when I could talk it out I would feel a whole lot better. I know it is not easy getting older and feeling awkward and going through the changes we all have to go through. Life does have many stages and if we are lucky enough we will have many experiences that will help shape us and teach us. We need to learn to adapt and to also reach out to others. We can not go life alone. We need parents, family, teachers, friends, coaches, nurses and doctors to help us through.

I know you are very special in your own way and like me you are not perfect. Nobody is perfect! We all have something to deal with. I also know that God loves us as does our parents no matter what! You need to always remember this because it is always true. When you feel alone and you are having difficulty I need you to speak your mind to someone you can trust and always remember you can always trust your mom and dad. As I said before we will always be there for you in life because you mean everything to us. When I see you sleeping peacefully in your bed I just feel such a good feeling inside. I don't want to see you troubled. I want you to feel happy and secure. I always hope you dream peaceful things at night when you sleep that make you feel comfortable and put a smile on your face.

I know you are very brave and you have such a good heart. I know you always tell me how you want to make the world a better place. Well I just want to let you know that I truly believe you can. As my parents always told me I will tell you the same and that is that you can do anything you set your mind to do and you should never get discouraged. If the road seems too difficult to travel then you need to stop, take a deep breath, think clearly, have faith and start again and always believe you can do it no matter what!

I remember as a young boy my parents would always share their knowledge, experiences and wisdom with me and they would make me feel so much better with their calming, encouraging and soothing words.
One of the many poems and writings they would share with me was a beautiful writing called "Footprints in the sand" and I wish to share this with you as well because it truly will warm your heart and it gives us all hope and a feeling of being comforted, loved and protected always. We just need to believe and hold on to our hope and dreams.

Always remember that mommy and daddy love you and we will always love you and always remember to believe in yourself because we do and God does also.

Reach for the stars!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Edward D. Iannielli III