Letter to the President

My inventive son recently created a top secret defense weapon out of popsicle sticks and scotch tape. It is intended for use by the President when he is traveling aboard Air Force One and is attacked by heat seeking missiles (if such a condition should arise).

He wrote a letter explaining the function of this deterrent, and the few additions that will be necessary for it to work in the manner in which it is intended.

We mailed it this morning.

If it gets past White House "postal security", I can only hope that it lands in the hands of someone who is accustomed to reading the handwriting and spelling of a 2nd grader. His explaination is written in pencil and takes up both sides of an unlined piece of 8.5 X 11 inch paper. Very few of the words are spelled correctly and the explaination doesn't exactly flow.

I loved watching him labor over this letter. It was not an easy task for him, but he was completely self-motivated and it caused that heart-melting-pit-of-the-stomach-mushiness that happens to parents when they fall in love with their kids again. It happens to me at least once a day.

Sometimes, as a parent (especially the parent of an only child), it's hard to get out of your child's way and let him do his thing. It's a lesson I'm constantly learning. And I'm pleased to report that I stepped aside and did not offer up a letter of explanation to accompany his letter and prototype. I did only what was necessary to help him follow-thru with this project: find a jiffy envelope and address it to the President at the White House. He decided to write "top secret" on the envelope.

I took a picture of it. Alas, I do not have a photo of the prototype or the letter. Just the part of the envelope that says "top secret."

I'll be curious to see if he gets a response.