{"id":1531,"date":"2009-11-26T03:14:51","date_gmt":"2009-11-26T10:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2014-07-05T12:28:02","modified_gmt":"2014-07-05T19:28:02","slug":"dear-gem-month-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2009\/11\/26\/dear-gem-month-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Gem – Month 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be a few days late, but how appropriate that I finally get around to writing this letter to you on Thanksgiving; you are right at the top of my list of things for which I am thankful. You bring so much joy to my life, and recently, music as well. We got out my old keyboard and hooked it up on the shelf below the tv and you just go to town on it – sometimes singing and dancing along too. Maybe it’s mother’s ears, but you sound good – in a frightening way. Actually your music sounds like the music from a horror film that foreshadows the scary part. But somehow it sounds musical too.<\/p>\n

\"017\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the end of last month you had just started pulling yourself into a standing position. We eventually had to take away your little gym because it wasn’t built to help you stand. You will use just about anything to help stand yourself up. In fact, Daddy got out the pots and pans so you could make noise and you tried to use them to stand up as well, which was fine until you fell and hit your head on a sauce pan.<\/p>\n

\"395\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"421\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since then, you have started making laps around the living room, going from couch, to bookshelf, to crib, to desk, and on, and on… You move fast, and you are becoming quite agile. You are so close to walking. You spend more time standing than sitting or lying down, and when you are sitting, you prefer to be up on Daddy’s shoulders.<\/p>\n

\"478\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You are so full of mischievous energy. You are always up to something, and that little brain of yours does not take a break. You have a strong will, and I’d like to make sure you keep a strong will. But it’s also important that you learn to temper that with knowledge, understanding, and an awareness of appropriate time and place. You can be strong willed AND change your mind when it’s appropriate. Sticking to your guns when they are pointing in the wrong direction leaves your back exposed, and wont do you any good at all. There are some people that disdain anyone who changes their mind, but at any given moment in time you cannot have all of the information. Sometimes the truth comes out after you have made a decision. Reconsidering an issue based on new information is not “flip-flopping on the issues,” it is the right thing to do. New information sheds new light on old problems. <\/p>\n

\"486\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love your feistiness. I love your snuggles and kisses.<\/p>\n

I love all of you.<\/p>\n

Mommy<\/p>\n

Read more Letters to Gem<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It may be a few days late, but how appropriate that I finally get around to writing this letter to you on Thanksgiving; you are right at the top of my list of things for which I am thankful. You bring so much joy to my life, and recently, music as well. We got out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[761,694,138],"tags":[272,358,671],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-living-well","category-living-well","category-parenting-living-well","tag-gem","tag-letters-to-gem","tag-life-lessons-2","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"761":{"name":"Family","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/living-well\/family-living-well\/"},"694":{"name":"Living Well","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/living-well\/"},"138":{"name":"Parenting & Family","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-living-well\/"}},"tags_names":{"272":{"name":"gem","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/gem\/"},"358":{"name":"letters to Gem","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/letters-to-gem\/"},"671":{"name":"life lessons","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/life-lessons-2\/"}},"comments_number":0,"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1fDeG-oH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12248,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2023\/10\/29\/october-is-selective-mutism-awareness-month\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":0},"title":"October is Selective Mutism Awareness Month","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Selective mutism is a rare disorder, a communication disability, affecting less than 1% of kids.","rel":"","context":"In "courage"","block_context":{"text":"courage","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/courage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"october is selective mutism awareness month","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/selective-mutism-1.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/selective-mutism-1.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/selective-mutism-1.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/selective-mutism-1.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/selective-mutism-1.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":207,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/05\/22\/his-tar\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":1},"title":"His Tar","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"For weeks my husband sat waiting for the mail. He would check the mail several times a day, pout, and double check again to make sure there wasn't a little yellow package slip tucked in the corner of the mail box. 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