big kid stuff

A quotation from Schuyler this morning:
"I wish I could just skip all of that big kid stuff because it is so hard."
I get that.  I understand.  Schuyler, right now, most things for you are still relatively new.  And that's a good thing.  One of the reasons you are so excited about waking up in this world is that so many things are still new.  Your brother is even newer to this world so he still gets excited when his pants have pockets.  But you both get pretty darn excited about so many things because the world is still an adventure.  Keep it that way.  Sometimes you get bored of something and remind me that we've done it a hundred times.  Well, that's a big challenge in life: Staying excited about it.  A lot of people - maybe most people - slowly become dulled to life over time and stop finding joy in it.  And that's the way humans are built - we're built to tire of experiences we've done several times.  It's takes some hard mental work to reawaken to the joys of experiences you've had a lot but every time you experience something, there's a newness to that one time that you can find.  Having said that, there is no substitute for simply discovering new things.  It might be crazy like hang gliding or keeping your brain exercised with new knowledge.  Or it might be simple like trying sushi for the first time or branching out of your wardrobe comfort zone or getting the courage to ask a new friend to lunch.  Either way, sweetheart, there's no way to skip the big kid stuff.  It is hard but it is also inevitable and how you face the challenges of the big kid stuff will define your character.  The good news is that it's mostly up to you to determine who you will become.  The bad news is that it's mostly up to you to determine who you will become.  But if you bring that little kid sense of wonder and adventure to the big kid stuff, you'll be unstoppable.