My Son's Twentieth Birthday
My eldest son turned twenty today.
When my son was still small, on a whim, I created a Gmail address for him to send him messages, and I have been secretly sending him messages on his birthdays.
I decided that I would tell him the address when he turned twenty.
I wrote the final message to send to that address.
Happy 20th birthday, [Name]!
Your mother and I wanted children so badly after we got married, but it didn't happen for a long time.
When we were worried about what to do, we found out you were growing in your mother's womb, and we were overjoyed.
Every time you kicked your mother's belly, I felt so much love for you.
When we found out you were a boy, we thought a lot about what to name you.
At first, we thought about writing it as [Name] and reading it as [Name-ta].
Because we loved the sound of [Name].
But you grew up to be the perfect [Name-ta].
Since I love cooking, you and I have made and eaten many things together, and I had hoped you would become a chef, but when you decided to go to a culinary high school, I was really worried if that was the right choice for you.
However, watching you over these last five years, I am relieved to know it was the right choice after all.
That is why I have decided to take the plunge and enter the world of food, just like you, as a producer.
When you eventually improve your skills even more and are able to cook dishes that make many people happy, I would be so glad if I could be of any help to you.
Good luck, [Name]!
I will always, always be rooting for you.
2023.11.29 From Dad
And I sent him the account and password as well.
I don't remember at all what I wrote in the past.
But I couldn't mark them as read, so I haven't read them.
It's a bit embarrassing, but maybe that's one of the small benefits of living apart.
Today is my son's twentieth birthday.
He told me he's going out for drinks with his seniors from work.
It feels like he's climbed one step up the ladder to adulthood.