I agree totally about touchy/feely stuff being hard for us single dads. My father was cold and emotionally distant, so I really have no guidebook to refer to on dealing with this stuff.
Plus, when you get burned by kids like you and I both have, you start to develop your own armor to prevent it from happening again.
I have almost the mirror image problem with R that you have with V. In our case, R is very into the touchy/feely stuff. he won't go to bed until he gives me a good-night hug. A couple of times, he's told me "I love my life here with you." I guess I've just become so used to manipulation that I try to steer away from it. With R, I don't think he's manipulating. He's actually being honest.
Now, watch how fast the "resident mothers" on this site tell us we just need to get married (and, no, not to each other!)
