While we were at the skateboard shop, today, buying some shorts and sneakers for my son, my son introduced me to the young man working behind the counter. I said, "hello, I am Graem's dad, partially."

I kind of surprised myself by saying partially, and Graem immediately caught me on it, and shouted out across the room, "What do you mean partially?"

When we were outside, on the sidewalk, heading to another store to look for the sneakers that my son wanted, I tried to explain to him what I meant, but I really couldn't. What I said, after I had paid $65.00 for his sneakers, and $45.00 for his shorts, was, "look, some guy that really thought that he was just partially your father, wouldn't have just dropped a hundred bucks on you, would he?"

My son smiled.

We are still, or at least I am still having minor fall out about the discovery that my son has been smoking and drinking for the last couple of years. I'm pretty much over it. I mean I can't get rid of him, now can I, just because he doesn't measure up to every high, or rather, not get high expectation that I have for him? I have to love him irregardless, don't I. I am not perfect and neither is he. We have had long talks on the matter, and I think that we understand each other. Of course, I thought that we understood each other all along.

The thought crosses my mind, however: how would I like it if my son thought of me as his partial dad?!