Your Dad, PART I

Dear Monsters,

This is your dad. He is definitely big now, but he wasn't always.

He used to look like this:

Your dad is also my big brother, and even though I wanted to be just like him, we weren't always very nice to each other. I imagine you monsters, on the other hand, are always nice to each other and work out your differences in all the ways civilized monsters do, right?

As for us, we yelled and we fought and we got in trouble for it. I'm also not necessarily proud to say we gave each other knuckle sandwiches and pulled each other's hair (and got in trouble for that too), and my big brother-- your dad-- would do the most awful thing that I know neither of you would ever dream of doing. He would dangle loogies over my face and...

THOOP... suck them back up just in time.

As if that close call wasn't torment enough, though, sometimes the long, sticky, milky string of drool would slowly and in spite of your dad's best (I assume) efforts...

SNAP.

Depending on the state of my head in the midst of panicked flailing, the blob that had been hanging so menacingly over my face would plop coolly onto my cheek or, worse, right into my eye or my ear.

Of course, to paint myself as the perpetual victim wouldn't be fair. I was guilty of the very same drool and drop along with much more serious crimes involving rakes, Barbie horses, and also hurt feelings.

Fortunately, the only scars I gave him that lasted are the emotional ones that he wears deep inside where no one can see he's still crying. He might need a hug right now, by the way.

So, yes, I rightly got in trouble for those transgressions, and learned very important lessons about saying sorry-- and meaning it-- when someone gets hurt. It doesn't feel good to be hurt, and it also doesn't feel good to hurt other people.

 All in all, remember that you're a super monster team, so try to be nice to each other even when you're mad. Share, cooperate, and apologize. Sometimes you'll be tempted to forget what I'm about to tell you, but every Monster-- little, big, purple, blue, yellow, green, scaly, slimy, toothy, gummy, tooty, or pooty-- is special and strong and wonderful in their own monstrous way.

Plus, if you work with instead of against each other, you'll be a much stronger unit when it comes to things like negotiating for extra dessert and cartoon time; and that's just the start of all the good stuff that comes from being nice. Monsters aren't just family. They're lifelong friends.

Love,
Auntie Hatchetface