I took Tio and a couple of his friends to pizza and a matinee as a belated birthday trip today. That's a first for me - taking out a group of kids with one of the grandsons. It's yet another level of committment I was hoping to sidestep. With everything else going on to keep me on my toes, I was figuring this would be a better "dad" bonding thing. Yeah, like that'll ever happen. A couple of weeks ago Buddy and Tio were supposed to go on a double date so Tio could bring a girlfriend but that fell apart. It was no fault of Buddy's but they never arranged to do something else. Which is where it fell back to me.
The boys were well behaved tonight, I like them and they like me and we had a fine time. That's not the problem. It's just that there are 3 grandsons and I'm not so sure I want to set this precedent. Does that make me callous or uncaring? I suppose if I say I don't care, the answer is: yes, I am uncaring. But should I care? I mean, is it my job to make sure the boys have friends over and do their share of 'entertaining'? Tish says no. It's not like they don't have friends they go see haven't got enough socialization elsewhere that they need to drag us into it.
Fair enough and I suspect, as with most other things, that I'll play it by ear. Maybe I'll go if I have the time, or I get talked or begged into it. I don't generally burn on the fumes of guilt so the "it's not fair, he got to go" argument won't really sell with me. On the other hand, if I can enjoy it, too, then maybe I won't mind going along for the ride.
It may turn into the only socialization I get. There's a sad thought.
