D is for…

I’m killing this challenge. We’re up to the letter D and I haven’t missed a single letter.. I’m determined to see this through.

Determination is also when your 9 year old won’t give up the electronics to get ready for school and will tell you “one second” 1500 times, he’s determined to lose said electronics for a week. Also, when I take said electronics away I’m determined to get him to get ready for school without being supervised every step of the way.

is for Dad. The best damn job any decent man can demand to be. That’s what this blog space is ultimately about, isn’t it? Or at least I try. Though it probably comes across more as a stay home mom blog. My hope is that my perspective and my humor inject just enough Dad to make it not a mom blog.

We are a unique breed. As I’ve been discovering over the past 5 years, since Bang was born, we’re becoming more and more proliferate. I’m continuously meeting dads who have stepped up to the parenting role and are either taking charge in their family or taking co-charge with mom. Dads change diapers, even if it makes them gag. Dads cook the meals, not just mac and cheese, either. Dads read and tuck the kids in at bedtime. Dads create new ways to say, “I love you.” Ugga Mugga. Blah blah blah. Yep.

There are still men who are strangers to their kids. Men who have no part in their kids’ lives. Men who in no way support their kids or their kids mother. They are simply fathers. Like the old adage says, “Any man can be a father, but it takes a special someone to be a Dad.” This post isn’t about them. They don’t deserve that kind of recognition. They don’t deserve the string of 1’s and 0’s it takes for the computer spell DAD.

This post is for the deserving dads. It’s for the ones who know their kids, who take part in the parenting process, who don’t shy away from cooking, cleaning, laundry, baths, diapers, teaching, and sleepless nights. Just kidding… we men don’t have sleepless nights, just nights we’re woken slightly. This post is for the dad who steps up to the duties of playing Barbie, My Little Pony, and tea parties. This post is for the dad who has the patience to teach his heathens to shoot hoops, throws a baseball, kick the soccer ball, or race ostriches. This is for the game board dad who begins to doubt his own existence after playing 57 straight games of Uno, begs to be put out of his misery after 14 straight hours of monopoly, and refuses to let his kids win at Battleship. Even once.

Here’s to all you dads who accept their challenge and not only be The Dad but wear that cape proudly and confidently. Here’s to all you dads who raised boys to be SuperDads, too. Here’s to all the Moms who love us Dads, even when we sometimes make you as crazy as the kids do. So whether you crack open a cold one, spice up your Coke with some whisky, or share a glass of wine with the love of your life, I raise my glass to you.

Cheers, Dad.