When two people have an infant that they have created together one of the questions that frequently comes up is how the family trees got spliced together and who does the child actually resemble.
The jury is still out on the Hedgehog. Shortly after birth we received a photo of Sweetie as an infant, and we decided that Hedgehog was a dead ringer for him. Which did not surprise me one bit, because Sweetie is a dead ringer for his father, and I figured that was just the way it was going to go.
Then a couple of days later Hedgehog really got around to opening his eyes for the first time, and gosh those sure looked a lot like my eyes. So maybe he did get some of me after all. And if I hold him up to photos of me as an infant he sure looks a lot like me.
Which is a whole lot of talk to basically say: the jury is still out and we'll get back to you on that one.
Except for one, undeniable resemblance.
The kid has my nose.
We shall set aside the fact that if there were one part of my anatomy I would least like to pass along to my offspring that it would be my nose. That I've been self-conscious about my nose since I went on a school trip to Washington, DC, in 9th grade and while in Colonial Williamsburg a classmate referred to my nose as "a ski jump for bugs."
That nose is mine, all mine. And every time I look at it I fall in love with my son just a little bit more.
It's one of those weird little ways that being adopted alters your world view.
I've never, legitimately, resembled my family. I've had people tell me they can see the family resemblance when making small talk, but they are seeing things that aren't there. I've been told more times than I can count that I look just like someone else you know. But I've never had that physical resemblance to show, without a doubt, that I am part of my clan.
Well, I haven't, until now. Like it or not, Hedgehog is now part of my clan, and he's got the nose to prove it.
Damn, being a parent is cool sometimes.
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