The Boss of YOU!

Dear Sam,
Yesterday I thought about you all the time I sat in the dentist chair getting a tooth fixed. Man, Sam, sore teeth really, really, really hurt and getting a sore tooth fixed hurts too. To stop thinking about the hurt, I thought about you. Remember the conversation we had about “The Boss”? You said boys were the boss of girls and I said that “The Boss” is the person in the house or school or gym or work who has the most responsibility. Then you asked me what responsibility meant and I said a person who is responsible keeps themselves and others safe, and that they make decisions that help themselves and others. I told you that a good boss asks for suggestions, and lets other people have responsibility. You said you had a lot of bosses; your mom and dad (and me that day) and all your teachers and you seemed to understand that Miss Patrice was a good boss because you thought ALL the teachers were “the boss” and you didn’t know she makes the final decisions about what is safe and what is good learning.
We talked about you being a “good boss” of your brother when you stop a game before one of you gets hurt, or you yell for your parents when he climbs too high or runs toward the street, and how you get frustrated because he doesn’t understand that you are “The Boss” of the trains when you set them up, and he doesn’t play by the rules of a game because he doesn’t understand what rules are yet.
What we didn’t talk much about was you being boss of yourself. While the dentist fixed my tooth, I made a long list in my mind of all the ways you can do that - You CAN decide what clothes to wear, what fruit you want in your lunch box, when to put away a game, what books are on your bedroom book shelf…I could go on, but your parents are “good bosses” and I’m sure that they will help you come up with a list on your own.
But TEETH, Sam! That’s a big one! If you can decide today, at four and one-half years old, to brush your teeth really well twice a day, every day for the rest of your life, in 62 years you will be able to play with your friends instead of sitting in the dentist chair all day on a sunny afternoon.