Summer Lunch Date With My Son
What's a single dad to do when he's barely seen his son all summer? A lunch date, of course! Usually my kids are with me half-time, but in summer their mom and I take turns having them for large blocks. She gets even-numbered years, I get odd for planning big trips. And so aside from a week at the beach last month, this lunch was one of the crazy few times I got to see my twelve-year-old all summer.
Turns out his summer was great. Besides our aforementioned week in San Diego (where we learned what it was like for his teen sister to meet a boy), he spent three weeks traveling with his mom, a week at lacrosse camp (his team won the camp championship - woohoo!), and a week of tent camping with boys his age.
Over burritos he told me what the outdoor camp was like:
- He made Indian lore crafts - hackey sacks, dream catchers, a Tee-pee. Very cool.
- He built a wilderness shelter and slept in it one night. Very cold.
- He constructed a Monkey Bridge and a catapult. Awesome.
- He fired a shotgun at clay pigeons. The kickback was huge.
He's a regular Grizzly Adams! So unlike his dad. When I was a kid at outdoor camps, I was usually near the water - swimming, canoeing, rowing, fishing.
But that's the great thing about letting your kids discover the world on their own terms. They find out for themselves what they truly love.
I'm delighted he's back. His neighborhood buddies are thrilled. (Believe me, they called every week, sometimes more, hoping he was around, each time being bummed to learn he'd be gone even longer.)
And now for the next few weeks before school starts up, my son can do something he loves that is entirely just like me - hang out and chillax!
This is an original Silicon Valley Moms Blog post. David Mott authors the blog Dad's House - Dating and Parenting as a Single Dad.
