So this has been a pretty fun week. My son, who I have barely seen since he was a baby flew in from Texas to spend a week with us and have our first Christmas together.
You see, his mother and I split up when he was very small. I won't get into the details, but suffice it to say that I lost contact with him and was not able to see him again until his 18th birthday. In fact, he didn't even know that I existed until he was 14!
I feel like we've been spending the last few years making up for lost time. One of the things that I have found most fascinating while we have been reacquainting ourselves is the fact that we are so much alike!
I always knew that genetics play a great role in many things, but certain behaviors are just uncannily similar that I would not have attributed to genes alone.
We make all of the same stupid faces, comment on the same things, laugh at the same stupid stuff and even share the same anxieties and neurotic fears. We also both talk a lot and get louder as we continue, much to the annoyance of anyone around us.
The anxiety part makes me sad though. I never would have wished it upon anyone. I always thought that my own anxiety was a result of my own specific conditioning, but it turns out that there must be a pretty strong genetic component to it. Either way, I was trying to help him learn to deal with it the way that I have over the years.
It is so weird trying to learn how to be a dad with an adult child. You don't really have any business bossing them around, but at the same time you want to help guide them without being too pushy. It is so awkward! Overall I am very happy with where we are right now, though. I am just grateful that will all that is happened, we are still able to have a relationship!
I just took him to the airport and he has headed back to Texas. I admit, I am dead exhausted! This was his first trip to Los Angeles so I had to take him to all of the stereotypical places like Hollywood and the beach cities. I haven't been this active in a very long time!
Oh, also he got up every morning at 6am, and went to bed at like 10pm. That may sound normal to many of you, but we are used to laying down at more like 3-4am and getting up around 11 or 12 noon. To be fair, this has probably been a huge wake up call for me to get in shape and get on a good sleeping schedule.
Here's hoping that I can keep it up!