These Are The Days

When exactly did Father’s Day turn into the polar opposite of Mother’s Day.  Let’s take my day for instance.  I was the one up at 5 AM to feed the baby.  I was the one who cooked dinner.  I was the one driving all over creation.  I was the one who was supposed to take the kid(s) out.  I was the one who put Ethan to bed.

Let’s contrast this with Mother’s Day.  That’s the day that moms get the day off and do nothing.  They go hang out with each other and order the fathers around.  Every sentence ends with the phrase “but today is Mother’s Day, your supposed to wait on me.”  Every sentence on Father’s Day ends with “but it’s Father’s Day, you should spend time with the kids.”

They are only one month apart, however it always seems like its not nice enough to cook out on Mother’s Day and we have to go out to dinner.  Then, Father’s Day rolls around and all of a sudden it’s a beautiful day for a cookout.  Mother’s Day turns into alone time and Father’s Day turns into family time.  Seems like us Dads have to do all the work on both days.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this post is made merely in jest.  Mother’s Day is great and well-deserved.  Father’s Day is great and no father could have a better day then spending time with his kid(s).  The way I look at it, these holidays are made for when your kids are young.  When your kids grow up, these days no longer have the same meaning.  The kids will have their own families and agendas for the day and that’s the way it should be.   It will change from a full time day to a part time day and nobody can really be looking forward to that.  My phone calls to all those fathers in my life proved that they have moved into the part time day and there is no reason to rush into that chapter in my life.

The first sentence of this post probably sounded like a complaint.  It wasn’t.  The truth is, I wouldn’t change my hour and a half spent with Ben sleeping on my chest.  I wouldn’t change the time we spent in the car as a family.  I love to grill and wouldn’t complain about having to do that.  I wouldn’t want to give up being the last person the Ethan sees each night.  While the kids are young, we need to soak up these full time days so that we can be ready for the part time days that are sure to follow.