Coming of Age (The Present)

Today, I became a Real Dad.

As our children get older, sooner or later every parent — usually the father — must face the inevitable, long-awaited, long-dreaded. Other parents try to ease our fears, wryly joke about it, urge us to buck up … but we remember the haunted looks on our own fathers’ faces, on those fateful mornings, and, when the time comes, we know what it is we have to do.

The time came today. Margie was off with Katherine at a Christmas party. So I knew the moment would come. I could put it off, maybe, a few days, until late at night … but now … now was the time.

I headed for the basement …

… and started to Put Together a Christmas Toy.

In Katherine’s case, it’s her new bicycle, which comes cunningly packaged in a carrying box, folded and organized and really not all that major of a deal.

Sorta.

The instructions are generic to every single bike the company makes, which means specifics about how things are going to work on this particular model — particularly with the trim pieces but even with basic stuff like, oh, the handlebars — is sorely lacking.

Mercifully, there’s a big picture of the bike on the front of the box. Yay. That got me through a few hard patches.

Got it nearly all put together, too. Only thing missing was my lack of a Huge Allen Wrench to get the handlebars put together. Allen wrenches? I mean, yeesh.

The plan is that this is a Santa gift. While we’re off on our trip, either we’ll have our house sitters bring it up and put it in the Living Room for our return, or else I’ll run in at the last second while Margie and Katherine are getting ready to run out to the airport. In either case, Santa will have visited, and Katherine will get a treat when she gets home.

So the First Assembly of a Toy actually went pretty well. No missing parts. Nothing too terribly complicated. A bit of skull sweat necessary, but that almost goes without saying.

I can rest tonight, proud and fulfilled. Today, I became a Real Dad.