Dear Ben,

I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Well, that's actually the opposite of how I live my life. As usual, it has been a crazy year, and throughout the year you have had to bear many lectures from me on the importance of planning for the future, being responsible with your money, and making sure your education always comes first. Well, I wanted to let you know that I think you are doing a great job! You are doing really well in school, taking challenging clases, participating in team sports and spending quality time with your family. You even held down a couple of jobs this summer and bought your first car! While I will continue to coach you in the future on these topics (it's my job after all), I want you to know that it is also important to enjoy the little things.

Don't forget to take time to hang out with friends. Build relationships. Have fun being a kid! Life is about balance, and being able to understand what is important and make sure to prioritize those things. It can be very easy to fall into a routine and spend your time just passing the time. I know it feels like we are getting on your case often about sitting in your room on youtube all the time, but that's because we want to make sure you are prioritizing the things that will truly make you happy. I'm OK with you burning some time online to decompress a little during the day. Just make sure you don't get lost in the good enough and forget to do the great. Set yourself some time limits. Schedule things that may not always be fun in the moment (such as homework and working out) but are critical to acheiving your goals. No one ever got a ten second car by sitting around and watching someone else. Work for your dreams!

We have had a fun year hanging out together. Playing games, talking about cars, watching movies. I really do cherish this time and although things have been busy lately, I hope that we can find more time to do this going forward. I love you!

Love always, Daddy