Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Thursday night, I spent most of the afternoon and evening with my Fireman and his son.  One of my friends babysat my boys, so I was able to focus on his little guy.  I’ve spent a little bit of time with him, but it’s been hard for me to get away from my responsibilities here after school time or on weekends.  Like I said before, we want the boys to feel comfortable with the new adults before we introduce them to each other, so it’s been kind of a slow process.  I’ll call his son Little Man, or LM from now on. 

He’s almost six years old, and looks a lot like Big J did when he was that age.  He’s all boy, loves playing outside, riding in his little fire truck power wheels, and doing whatever his Daddy is doing.  He’s also completely adorable, with great manners and a sweet disposition. 

That afternoon, my FM had been looking at a used truck that he hopes to buy, and they were test driving it when I got to his house.  They came and picked me up, and all three of us went back to the car lot.  I think both LM and I were a little nervous and didn’t know how to act around each other quite yet.  I asked him about his day at school and what he thought about the truck, but he was pretty quiet.  Once we got to the lot, FM needed to negotiate a bit with the salesman, so LM and I were inside alone.  There was really nothing for us to do, so I tried to keep him busy.  We looked at the pictures on the walls of the classic cars, and then DUH I remembered the “hand slap game.”  Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner???  If you aren’t familiar with the game, the rules are easy.  One person puts their hands out, palms up, and the other person puts their hands on top.  The person whose hands are on the bottom tries to (gently) slap the hands of the other person before they can move them.  Kind of a test of your reflexes.  LM had never played this game before, but he caught on quick and giggled a lot.  YES! 

We played for about five minutes and then it was time to go.  We headed back to the house and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.  We walked for a ways, and stopped at a playground so he could play for a bit.  The funniest part was when he picked a blade of grass and was trying to tickle us with it.  When his mom called to talk to him, he told her that, “Daddy, me, and Ginger are going for a walk…I like her.”  Beaming smile!    We sort of had to rush back to the house so we could go get dinner before it was time for me to pick up my boys, but we had a good time.

There is a new restaurant in town that the FM and I visited before it was really open.  We talked about how the boys would like it, and I’ve since taken my boys there.  LM hadn’t gotten to go yet, though, so we went there.  He loved it.  He ate so much, he had a tummy ache, though!  We got along just great, and I was impressed at what a little gentleman he was.

What I am more impressed about, though, is what a great daddy my FM is.  I mean, I already knew it, but seeing him in action for a longer period of time made it even more clear.  It wasn’t as if LM was a perfect angel the entire time, no kid is.  However, the way FM handled him was amazing.  He never talked down to him, never threatened…firmly and calmly, he took control of the situation and diffused whatever it was.  It was just so different from what Douche was like, what The Crazy One was like.  He is such a good man.

This is my man.  This is my future.  Part of me feels like I don’t deserve it, that something bad will happen and it will all go away.  Even as I think these things, I know they’re stupid and wrong, and yet I can’t help thinking it all the same.  For now, I will say that everything is wonderful, and I’m very happy to be adding another boy to “my boys.”