The High Price of Fatherhood
As I wrote a few weeks ago, I’ve found a way to smooth some of the rough edges off the two-month separation from Sam by mailing him things that remind him of our time together, including photos, games he likes to play, books, and the like.
“You tell him that you’re sending him a surprise in the mail and to keep an eye out for it. Every time you talk to Sam, ask him if the surprise arrived yet and if he checked his mailbox. When it finally gets there, it will definitely remind him of you, and you’ll have something to talk about for awhile.”
One of his favorite games down here is Chutes and Ladders, so I dropped by the local K-Mart yesterday and picked up a copy. This afternoon at lunch, I jotted a quick note to him, folded in the money order for his October support, and trudged off on down to Fed Ex to send the package up to Quebec.
Grand total to ship a board game? $63.00
High price to pay. But a hell of a lot lower than the emotional and psychological toll. Can’t wait ’til Thanksgiving. Christmas is gonna suck (it’s not my year) but I’ll have him in January for his birthday, our first together since… well, since he was born!
That’s kinda fucked up, now that I think about it and let the idea bounce around my head: I haven’t been present at any of my son’s birthdays. Blame Canada… or rather, “blame a couple of specific Canadians”
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