Be Unique

Finn and I had a discussion about being unique yesterday before he went back to his mother's. He thought some teenagers in a cafe were pointing at him and laughing at his new hat and very long hair. Those of you who know Finn are aware that my son has a certain swagger. A swagger that I would not alter for anything, but this seemed to bother him a bit. There are challenges that come with parenting, single parenting is more challenging still, and single parenting by the likes of me, well, there are no books on tape for that. Still I think Finn and I get by. Though I wanted to say something to the kids in my best "mentoring" tone, I refrained, realizing that it would embarrass Finn, and if it taught any lesson at all, it wouldn't be the right one. I told Finn to look at my hands and tell me what he saw. "Tattoos, dad." I asked him if they were ugly "Not to me." he said. I asked him if these told people everything about me, whether I was a good dad, whether I liked Lebanese food, enjoyed baking and didn't drink, or whether I love the magic tricks that my son shows me. "No." I asked him if he knew those things about me. "Of course dad." I winked at him and said "Part of being unique means you don't always get to pick what people may think, but the ones who love you know what's up, and that's all that matters."

In a related story, ironically, a man at the gym today said to me "I don't know why anyone would get tattoos on their hands. Do you have any regrets? You MUST." I just said no. What I wanted to say was "Yes sir. two. one, that i didn't get them sooner, and two, that they seem to attract commentary from stool such as you." but I didn't. Practice what you preach dad.