Field Trip

You know you're not single anymore...when you pay for your daughter's first school field trip...You realize if there are more of these trips, you will need to get a second job to pay for them...You do wonder how other families on budgets pay for school functions, especially since "everybody is going."...Meanwhile, your daughter comes back and says she will need some lunch money...You mean food is not included in that price?!?...So the school will take the kids there but will not make sure the kids eat...that's like taking someone on a date and expecting them to pay for their own food!...In either case, you know you value the experience your daughter will have and you give accordingly.

Growing Up

You know you're not single anymore...when you spend time with your children and you see glimpses of the woman and the man they are growing into...You already have seen how fast this past year has been and the changes that have occurred in their lives...Yet, in between the jokes and the silliness, you do see moments of maturity and you know that you are not just being "Dad" for a few necessary years, but that you are instilling values and lessons that will follow your kids for the rest of their lives...You hope that their memories of you when they reflect back to this point in their lives will be fond and that you can still support them as young adults as you have grown to love and support them as the teens they currently are.