Most parents have had it happen or seen it happen to others. A friend or family member wants a kiss from a child that said child is unwilling to give. They then try to take a kiss regardless and at that point, I start to feel my blood rising and desperately want to scream at them how wrong that is.
Monthly Archives: June 2013
“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
Theodore Hesburgh
You won’t find me quoting Catholic priests too often – what with organised religion being one of the worst things to have manifested in this world – but I love the above excerpt.
I adore it because it’s so powerfully simple and understated. I mean, my daughter will form a long-lasting vision of what a man should be from me. Though I’m not entirely sure I’m up to the task of fulfilling such an important role, the implication I’ve overlooked is that the way I interact with her mum will form a strong basis for how she views adult relationships and partnerships should work.
I’m not the best husband and I know I need to be a better man, but it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t only be my wife that benefits from a shake-up of the husband skills.
You love your children. That’s an unshakable truth and you show them everyday that they are your world. You come home tired and sometimes you shout and snap at them, but deep down you love them and show them in many ways: playing with them, talking to them, listening…paying attention to them in so many ways.
And I see that if I don’t do the same with my wife, not only do I deprive her of a show of my affection, I show my daughter that this is normal and that a man doesn’t treat his wife with the same show of love as he does his children.
It’s really unsettled me because that’s really not cool. I’m not a bad person but I am undoubtedly remiss in showing my wife the love I have for her when I do the same for my children without fail.
Time to listen to the priest for once. 10 Hail Marys and let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again, my son.
Nesting: The Silent Killer
Nesting’s a phenomenon that leaves your house gleaming and your hands withered and sore.
Symptoms include a seemingly irrational need to clean compounded by further deep cleaning, recycling or selling anything that’s not being used, and generally obliterating anything that doesn’t have a place in the house or garden.
Oh Hai!
Don’t be alarmed; we come in peace and we don’t use lolspeak all of the time.
Since this is the first time we’ve met, introductions are in order. I’m your dad, and I’ll be here to guide you through the heady heights and bumpy chasms of the next eighteen years and beyond.
You look like we’ve caught you at a bad moment but having waited for over an hour to see you, we made sure that you were poked and prodded until you did eventually give us a few grimaces.
We had this picture taken at First Glimpse, which is ironic given that you’re covering up your face in this shot. Your ninja skills did nothing to hide the fact that you’re the double of your sister and the most beautiful yellowy fuzz I’ve seen since her 4D scan. You look pretty angry but then I would be too if I kept getting jiggled around so that people could look at me whilst I was trying to sleep.
It’s all good here; we’re almost prepped for you to land (though your sister is going through something of a drumming phase we hope will have passed before you arrive lest your head becomes part of her drumming ensemble) and following some well-meaning attempts at decorating the house looks ready to receive you.
You’re due in ten weeks. Please make sure you arrive on time; delays in the departure lounge will make your mum pretty angry seeing as you are scheduled to land at the end of summer and she’s already melting in this heat.
I also know if you have a winky or a vajayjay. But I’m not telling anyone.
See you soon. There’s a bright world awaiting you and I can’t wait to meet you properly.
Love you more than words can describe already,
Dad
x
Formula Feeding & Advertising
Given that I am a man and therefore unable to breastfeed, writing any opinion or piece about breastfeeding is going to be difficult.
Not that such trivial matters as gender will put the brakes on this train and as I’ve got a few posts planned around breastfeeding, I thought I’d start with one that looks at how formula feed is pitched to expectant and new parents.
Before I open this can of turds, The Alpha Parent is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding stories and information (and the amazing game that is Boobie Trap Bingo) so rather than referencing the site’s wonderful material throughout this post, I suggest you take a look for yourselves to ‘supplement’ this piece. Supplement, that’s a good one in light of this post…
Wearing The Daddy Pants 