The Hand Holding Contract

dapperdadclub (48)in #life • 7 years ago

In the not so distant past, when there was a rear-facing car seat in the backseat of my small four-door sedan, my Mini Bro and I had a great tradition. Let me set the scene for you.

A little voice shouts from the rear-facing car seat, "Dada!".

"Yes, sir?", I respond.

The little voice replies almost interruptive of my response, “Hi buhyee, Ok".

Just in case you were wondering that word is pronounced ‘buh-yee', translated from infant speak to buddy. Important, I know!

However, the reciting of this famous line, in my little Honda Civic, is the official signaling of my queue to present my hand next to the car seat pleasantly harnessed in behind the passenger side seat. In doing so a much smaller hand then grabs mine and locks fists, as if we were prepping for a very serious round of thumb war.

Once locked into place the occasional response of, “Strong face!”, ensues.

In this instance, the requirement then becomes that I squeeze that tiny hand and grunt with teeth showing. Now obviously, I’m facing forward driving the car so it is only displayed through vocalization rather than a complete photogenic moment. But as we all know, repetition is key with little humans and the noise is enough to spark the responsive grunt in the tiny voice.

You see, my Mini Bro and I have a mutual understanding with one another. That is, during the car rides, dada’s right hand is for holding, providing food into the car seat cup holder, or showing strong faces.

This works perfectly because my car is an automatic and well let’s face it, Civic’s are not the largest vehicles on the road. It doesn’t hurt that the little giant in the back of my car measures consistently in the 98th percentile for a two-year-old, and has very long arms. Of course when the request is to hold the hand for a 45-minute car drive, well there may be some extremity sleeping going on by the end of the trip. Not that I mind, of course, I am just happy to be spending the quality time with my little man.

Now, the hand holding is not as simple as it may initially sound. There are a set of very detailed instructions that must be followed in order for said little giant to achieve the desired result. They are as follows, in his first person:

Do NOT, under any circumstances, release my hand
Do NOT, under any circumstances, make me ask more than two times for Dada’s hand
- Warning: In the event said toddler must ask more than twice, expect kicking and screaming to follow
Once Dada’s hand has been held for the first time, it is to remain in the car seat at all times even if said toddler releases to play with his toys
Only when toddler pushes Dada’s hand back to the forward area of the vehicle is it ok for Dada remove hand from car seat
Toddler may add any and all desired new rules at a future date

This is a very strongly expressed contract of Dada's car. What? You don't remember agreeing to the aforementioned terms and conditions several months prior to toddler's existence when the car was purchased? If not renewed each and every car ride, then little man lets Dada know he will not be entering the vehicle for the transportation request.

It's been quite some time since this has been the experience in my little Honda Civic. Like most things that our children do, and every person for that matter, they grow out of a majority of their momentary habits. However, that doesn't mean that we should take them for granted. These are the memories that the little humans will carry with them forever, and a foundational moment for us to build upon.

You see, it should be clearly understood that children don't remember that shiny new truck that you purchased them to play with. They remember things that are far greater in value and sentiment. The memories and bonds that you forge with them through activities.

Thanks for tuning in as I traveled down memory lane, and that is your Daily Dose of Dapperness!