A Deadbeat Father & An Unexpected (and Hilarious) Holiday Tradition
Our Dysfunctional Family Christmas
It’s no secret that I don’t have many good things to say about my ex, the father of my 3 (now adult) boys. He was mostly an absent father even though he lived less than 10 minutes away from me and the kids. He never paid a cent of support, opting instead to invest his salary in a collection of Nike baseball caps.
Oh, and dogs. He was going to make his fortune breeding dogs. He bought 2 Bull Mastiff pups so he could raise and breed them. Too bad they were both boys.
And that’s where this story begins. His selfishness and poor investment choices started a family tradition that’s been going strong for about 20 years now.
Really, it’s 3 traditions, bubbles, IOUs and a hat.
Money was tight when my boys were young. They anxiously looked forward to Christmas because it was the one day we weren’t poor. I scrimped and saved all year, and bought gifts on layaway. And my mother generously gifted us between $500 and $1000 each year specifically for presents.
My boys wanted for nothing. They’d tear into their stuff and then trudge dutifully over to their father’s. They’d get a few things from him, but what they mostly got was entertainment. He and his…
