Never lose sight of your worth

Dear Oliver,

You are often so hard on yourself and so emotional that I worry you will lose sight of how amazing you are. I think you take after me in that you are a perfectionist in some ways and if things don't go as you planned, you get pretty frustrated. This can be discouraging for you and often leads to negative self talk and a lot of anger and sadness. Your dad and I are trying to do our best to help you. We love you so much and want you to be happy but also to learn and grow along the way and know of your worth. You recently told me, "I'm probably not the kid you want me to be." That broke my heart. I hope I never give you that impression. Sometimes things get pretty hard. It's difficult to know how to best help you. But you are amazing and exactly the kid I want you to be because you are you, with your strengths and weaknesses (which everyone has) and you are learning how to do hard things. I have seen a lot of growth in you this past year.

One thing I wanted to note. When you were sick last month, you said, to me: "I wish I was a better man so I wouldn't get sick." I thought it was cute how you referred to yourself as a man.

I love you a lot Buddy.