The two men in my life.

     For two and a half years it's been mostly just Avery and I. His father and I were "together" for the first year and a half of his life but we rarely saw each other. I've pretty much raised our son without any help from him and let me tell you, it's been exhausting. I don't think I slept the entire first two years of his life. I was the one who was up when he would wake at 3am. I was the person who watched over him when he was up all night with a fever. I'm the one who bathed him, who rocked him to sleep, who has watched The Croods and Finding Nemo more than 30 times each. The two of us have a very close and special bond because of this. That is why I was scared to start dating.

     Dating meant that I would get close to someone and the dynamic of just Avery and I would be changed forever. Would a new guy judge me for co-sleeping with my son? Would he find Avery's weird quirks endearing or would he think there was something wrong with him? I honestly thought that this was something I wouldn't even have to worry about for quite some time. I didn't plan on introducing my kid to anyone until I fell head over heals for the guy. Little did I know that I'd find someone so amazing and perfect for me so quickly.

     I had read several articles on introducing your child to your mate prior to meeting Rich. They all seemed quite ridiculous to me. Most suggested waiting at least a year before your kids met your boyfriend. A year?! So I'm supposed to what, live a double life? What if after that year they meet and absolutely hate each other? I just shrug it off and say I wasted a year? I figured I'd ignore the advice of the "experts" and just wing it. Much like I did with child birth and raising Avery. I'll figure it out as I go.

     It wasn't long after dating Rich that I realized he wasn't like the other guys. He's genuine and thoughtful and extremely sweet. He's pretty much everything I've ever wanted in a partner plus more. So naturally, I wanted him to meet my son. Rich had zero experience with kids so I'm pretty sure he was a bit nervous about it. I know from experience how he must have felt. You don't want your partner's kid to hate you. I had to do it with both my ex-husband and Avery's dad. It was nerve-wracking both times. You never know how it will go, especially with older children.

     The good thing about Avery being only two and a half is that he will easily accept Rich into his life. He won't remember his parents being together and blame this new man for their split. Adding Rich into our tiny little family will make us stronger. He will grow up seeing what a relationship is supposed to be like and never have to see the scars his father left. He won't remember the sadness and pain his mom went through before this point.

     I personally thought that their meeting couldn't have gone better. Avery immediately started talking to Rich like he knew him. He kept saying Rich's name in every sentence he spoke. He wanted to show him all the cool things he could do, like jump and climb.

     Their first and second encounters were brief. I couldn't really tell how it was going with the two of them. They didn't have a whole lot of time to get to know one another so I had to remedy that. I decided a trip to the zoo was in order. Within the first few minutes of picking Rich up my mind was at ease. He talked to Avery and asked what animals he was going to see. When we stopped to get food I left the two of them together while I went to the bathroom. I don't think either knew what to make of the other. When I'd tell Avery to eat he'd ignore me. When Rich would tell him he would comply. I assumed that this was a good thing, for Rich anyway. Avery often thinks it's fun to ignore my requests.

     At the zoo Rich was often down at Avery's level showing him animals and talking to him. I can't speak for all the single moms out there but for me, this was an incredibly sexy thing. He made an effort to get to know my child, something that he really didn't have to do. He offered to push the stroller and was always walking next to me. I'm sure these seem like no brainer things to people in normal healthy relationships but I personally have never had experience with this. I was used to doing everything up until this point. It felt nice to have a partner for once. People walking past wouldn't have questioned our relationship. Rich wasn't shying away and distancing himself from us. He was apart of our little family.

     Even when it's just Rich and I he'll bring up Avery and show a genuine interest in him. He shows that he cares about him because he cares about me. Any worries I may have had before are gone. I loved being just Avery and I for the first two and a half years of his life but after finding Rich, I'm ready to let myself be happy again.