Happy Birthday to My Little Howard Roark

Happy Birthday to My Little Howard Roark
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

October 4, 2006:

Today, we celebrate Nicky’s fifth birthday.

I am beaming with pride. My love for my little boy is truly boundless.

I wish I could be more for him, do more for him, be with him more, give him more and as much as he needs, so that he can grow up to be all that he can be.

I am doing my best.

Apart from providing for basic needs like shelter, food, love, like any well-meaning parent should, I’m also trying to encourage, guide and expose him to many the wonders of the world, so that he might be inspired and perhaps tap into his innate talents early on.

He has long exhibited extraordinary agility, athletic ability and enthusiasm for sports. He loves basketball and recently began soccer camp. He scored two of his team’s four goals last week.

He also has an innately wonderful singing voice. Without instruction, without training of any sort he intuitively sings with a gentle vibrato that makes any song he takes on a pleasure to listen to.

Finally, two days ago he called me over to the living room, tugging at my sleeve, eagerly egging me in with, “Come on Papa, I want to show you something.”

To my pleasant surprise, he had constructed a building with the Lincoln Logs that, to me at least, resembled a marvelously intricate structure akin to the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. I was quite taken by his creation and made him pose beside his work. Hence, the picture posted above.

I was truly impressed and really found it extraordinary. Then again, what parent wouldn’t, right?

Well, nonetheless and allthemore, despite my paternal bias, I felt it was important to encourage what I perceived as perhaps some special knack for design, or at least an interest in architecture.

So, along with the razor scooter that he asked for, I ran out at lunch today to the book store to get him something a little extra. After streaming through all the shelves, I finally found something suitable in the bargain books section, two huge tomes with a lot of great pictures—one, a compendium of architectural design throughout history, and the other, about “the world’s most remarkable buildings.”

He may ultimately simply toss them aside and they will pile up along with all the other stacks of books I’ve bought for the boys over the years, but I’m content knowing that at least I’m making an extra effort to motivate and facilitate his potential, whatever ultimately it may be, whatever it may become.

However, erudition only can get you so far. To put what you preach into practice, to teach by example, is by far the better pedagogy. Thus, I think that the greatest impact and inspiration will ultimately prove to be whether or not his father lives up to his own potential.

“My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”
- Clarence Budinton Kelland -

I love you Nicky. Happy Birthday my dear boy!

evoL,
apaP