When suddenly you realize the "mini-me" fallacy...

Raising good kids is hard.  And after 20+ years of it, I had that "AH-HA" moment that I realized that no matter how much you poke & prod, your child will never fit in your "mold".

My son.  One wonderful, terrific young man.  Does he frustrate me?  YES.  Am I proud of him? DEFINITELY!

Take for example the email he sent to me and his Dad ( excerpts of below).

 "Wow!" is all I could say after I read it, and "who knew?"

__________________________________________

"I want to be able to explore the stars. I want to see what the hell is out there in vast expanse that is the universe. If I can't then I want to die knowing, and be known as a crucial part in the events leading up to this vital eventuality."

(referring to Elon Musk)..
"I share the same beliefs, as well as aspirations for humanity as a species. I want his dreams to happen because they are my dreams. But unfortunately, I don't think many people share these beliefs or hold a dream of humanity reaching to the heavens and conquering the unknown. This is a problem. Government position candidates, at-least in American, base campaigns on popular opinion. Regardless of the mass opinion on hot-topics like gun-control, gay marriage, marijuana, police regulation, etc., if we can get the majority to say to their congressman, senator, "I think we need to explore space and colonize other planets.", instead of "I want you to help legalize pot so I can get stoned all day, sitting on the couch and being lazy, without fearing SWAT kicking in my door." than we can help advance humanity as a species. If helping humanity step-up to the next level isn't a good aspiration, than I don't know what it."

and then finally,
"Dad, we can do something that is above having our names on film credits. I think that we can be the architects of one of the major pillars of civilization: Culture. I want to do this with you, with mom. We can do it as a family. I want our names etched into the history of the universe. I'm a firm believer in the saying, "You die twice, once when your body ceases function, and finally when your name is said for the last time." I don't want my name and accomplishments to die when my grandchildren die, and I don't want yours or moms to either. I want the Turner family to be remembered forever. I want the Turner family to watch and help advance humanity for eons to come. I want children, thousands, if not millions of years in the future to learn, "Thadd, Cindy, and Wyatt Turner cultivated global culture into one that supported space exploration and colonization, ultimately helping humanity expand beyond Earth.""

My son. Simply Amazing!!