School Pictures

Wednesday is picture day at school for Finn and this year, for the first time, I'm responsible for getting him ready for his close-up. His mother and I split up before he entered the world of school pictures, and he has never been with me the night before.

The court and the lawyers gave us each a piece of paper that gives a plan for when Finn is where. Alternating holidays, four weeks in summer, breaks split in two, alternating birthdays, etc. Thankfully, it has served mainly as a guide, due to the fact that his mother and I seem to be able to schedule things out with Finn's best interest at heart. However, there is no provision for events like this: The things that are part of a child's day to day life. They just fall where they fall.

Am I nervous? No.

I am not now, nor have I ever been a "hands off" type of dad.  When he was a baby and a toddler, I spent quality, one on one time with Finn everyday. The divorce took that away from me, and that was its cruelest blow.  I now cherish all the time that I do have with Finn, but I don't coddle him as much anymore. He doesn't need it. (BTW, coddling and hugging are two very different things and, as I have mentioned before, Finn comes from a long line of huggers on his father's side. He throws a hug like a champ. Not the quick ones, with a pat on the back, but the long ones, that pass through you and stay with you awhile. In fact, he's made ME a better hugger.) I watch, as he grows both inside and outside. He's got his own deodorant (Old Spice) and now, "hair product." Dad hasn't had hair product since 2009. Finn has a good eye. He always has, and he's a good looking boy if I do say so myself, and I'm saying so, and lately he has shown real interest in how he looks. He is more than capable of picking out a good outfit (face it, just the shirt shows), but just in case, dad hung a shirt on the rabbit hanger on his closet door tonight, and his favorite jeans are in the top drawer.