As you’ve probably figured out by now, I primarily use this blog to vent, to crack jokes, to scratch my creativity itch, and as an outlet for sarcasm. But when all is said and done, these posts will ultimately add up to one long journal. It will serve as a collection of memories from my son’s early life and a scrapbook of moments from my life as a parent, many of which might otherwise be forgotten in my son’s sprint through childhood.

I swear, he outgrows something new every day, and sometimes I just want him to slow down. He’s not going to, of course, which reminds me: Detective Munch turns four today!

This is probably the last blog you expect to get sappy – at least I hope it is. But if you’ve been paying attention, you might know that my son’s birthday is just about the only time a year I allow myself to go a little soft.

Starting today, I’m going to give you an opportunity to go soft with me. Wow, that sounds really gross.

At four, my son is still just a little guy – I can still pick him up and manhandle him with ease; he can still climb on me and treat me like a jungle gym with relatively little discomfort (save for the occasional, accidental(?) crotch-shot); he can still fit in our bed without pushing my entire body off of it (I usually manage to keep at least half my body on the mattress) – but there’s no denying he’s growing up.

He’s officially entered the school system. He can actually hold conversations. He still makes terrible decisions, but at least they’re increasingly becoming his decisions. Unfortunately, some of them bum me out. Like when he pushes away from a hug, or turns away from a kiss. I thought being rejected by every girl I tried to talk to in high school hurt; being rejected by this creature I helped create is a thousand times worse, especially when it was just yesterday that he was sleeping on my chest.

I want to remember those good times since they will surely fade, along with every other cute, little-kid thing our children do before they know any better. It probably won’t be long before he stops wanting to dress like a superhero. Today I’m announcing a new initiative on Dad and Buried: The Snuggle is Real.

It’s a call for your favorite pictures of those fleeting moments we all live for, those split-seconds when you’re obnoxious, stressful, defiant, pain-in-the-ass kid forgets to make your life a frustration factory and actually gives up the good stuff. Maybe it’s a cuddle under the blankets during a movie, or a spontaneous hug, or an unsolicited hand-holding, or something else. Something you probably can’t imagine your teen, or even your ten-year-old, doing, but don’t want to forget. Because even though they can seem like mirages, the snuggle is real!

I’m hoping to accomplish two things: 1) to help us remember the happy moments, the hugs, the highlights in the midst of all the stress and aggravation, and; 2) to promote the good parts of parenting, which might otherwise get lost among the mountains of sarcasm and snark that so many of us resort to in order to stay sane, of which I am one of the main offenders.

So, don’t want to forget those precious moments when one of your kids actually didn’t mind being trapped in a bear hug, or sandwiched between kisses? Want to help remind other parents that despite most of the stuff you read on blogs like this, parenting ain’t all bad?

Send your pics to my twitter account or post them on my Facebook page, email them to me at dadandburied@gmail.com, or even put them on Instagram and hashtag it with #thesnuggleisreal*, and I’ll start posting them on a brand new section of the blog that I hope to have up and running within a week or two, once I’ve gotten a few submissions.

Don’t worry, I’m still going to talk shit all the time, but now there will also be a place on this blog where you can cleanse the palate by staring at cute photos of kids NOT being assholes! After all, there are so many crappy parts of parenting (as evidenced by the dark tales on my Buried Secrets section), we all deserve to remember the good ones. Right?

I’ll start.

#TheSnuggleIsReal

Happy Birthday, Detective Munch! No matter how angsty you get as you grow older, I’ll always have pictures like those to remember how much you actually liked me once!

*A #thesnuggleisreal hashtag already exists, but it’s apparently about dogs, so conflict shmonflict.