Conversations with Gideon

My middle child, Gideon, is a unique person. He's sensitive and has a turbulent personality that is either sunny or thundersome. He is perceptive and honest. If he likes you, he loves you. If he doesn't like you, he doesn't want a thing to do with you.

This morning while I was getting socks and shoes gathered up he asked me two very profound questions. It seems like with kids, the profound questions always show up in the most ordinary moments.

First he asked: Why don't we live with my daddy?

(His biological father is named Travis. He does not have contact with him. He visits the ASSHAT with the other two boys when they go for visits and thinks the ASSHAT is his father. I realize that this situation is somewhat dishonest and will eventually bite me in my own ass, but for the time being, I have no ready solution)

I answered: You daddy and I didn't get along very well with each other and were mean to each other, its better that we live apart so everyone can be happy.

He said ok and pondered his feet for a minute and then asked: Why don't we have a dad person to live with us?

(Many of the people in his life who aren't me are paired up and living with a significant other.)

I answered: There are a lot of mean people in the world, and I don't want just any old mean person to live with us, so I'm waiting and making sure that the nicest, coolest, bestest person lives with us to be the daddy.

HE seemed ok with that answer too.

Then he asked: Will N-----'s dad move in and be the daddy? Jason is the kid's dad. Jason spends some weekends with us and we all have a great time. Its homey and boring and exciting all at the same time.

I answered: Jason has a job and a house and things he has to take care of and he needs to make sure everything is ok before he moves in with anyone. I like Jason an awful lot, but I don't know if he's going to ever move in with us or not.

I have no idea if these questions and my answers were at all ok. But I did my best.