Why I tell new dads to never have expectations...

My trans son has started testosterone therapy as of yesterday. Big day, you know. He went through the instruction for self-injections, did really well at it, but got super nervous when it came time to do his first shot, so I got to step in.

Figured, he's nervous, and distracting him will help, so I offered to put on some music, to which he agreed.

I couldn't help it. I cued up "make a man out of you" from Mulan. When he recognized the song my son spent a solid minute cracking up with stress laughter. I gave him his shot and we had some more giggling over the whole thing.

These are the moments no expectation can prepare you to handle. The bonding moments no amount of advice from other dads can set you up for.