I’m not sure why, but this Father’s Day has me reflecting on fatherhood for more than just the fleeting moment when I’m thinking of something profound to write in Mike or my dad’s cards. The holiday can seem like an afterthought in our house with the slew of celebrations that come before it and Mike’s general laid-back attitude about the day. In general, Father’s Day takes a back seat to Mother’s Day. Does it bother dads? I don’t know. But I have to wonder if their silence on the subject doesn’t reflect a larger issue:
It must be tough to be a father these days.
Now moms, I know some of you will roll your eyes at me and launch into a litany of reasons why it’s hard to be a mom, especially a mom to young children. And I don’t disagree. Though we’re in the golden years of parenting, some days are drop-dead exhausting. Mentally and physically exhausting. I’m always doubting myself, wondering if I’m doing it wrong or screwing them up. I’m spread thin, trying to be a good wife, mom, friend, daughter, employee, volunteer … and oh yes, take some time for me, too.
Yes, it’s hard for moms. But this is not only common knowledge, we’re encouraged to share our feelings. And then we’re encouraged even more to over-share our feelings through blogs, magazines and memoirs. Yes, it’s hard to be a mother, but we’re not alone.
I think about fathers like Mike and his peers. I wonder how his generation must struggle with fatherhood. Their fathers’ lives and expectations were so different. My dad didn’t change diapers or cook dinner. He didn’t drive me around or help me with my homework. He never shuttled me to school or packed my lunches while my mom went to blogging conferences or girls’ trips. I don’t fault him one bit for it – none of the dads I knew did these things.
And so these husbands of ours came into fatherhood with this road map that is vastly different than the landscape they find themselves in today. I think about the expectations I place on Mike as a father and husband. I expect that he will support us while I stay at home. I expect that he brings home a salary that allows us to live comfortably. I expect him to work hard, but not so hard that he isn’t home for dinner or to help put the kids to bed. I expect him to know his way around the kitchen and to help with chores around the house. I expect him to know our routine, to not play the bumbling fool of a dad when I go out of town. I expect him to play with the kids, help them with homework (at least math, lord help me), volunteer at their sporting events, attend their school functions.
I think about the demands that life places on these fathers. That their careers are number one. That success means climbing the ladder and having fancy toys. That they should have man caves and fantasy teams, but dress like Justin Timberlake and fit in their manscaping appointments. They should be totally present in their kids’ lives, woo their wives with creative date nights and handcrafted gifts from Etsy, have their dude time with friends, do P90X religiously, and work on average 20 hours more a week than our fathers worked. Yes, do all that and balance it ALL.
Our dads, man. They missed out on so many bonding experiences with us, but their lives were much less complicated.
I don’t have an answer (do I ever?). But I do know this: I’m here to tell the dads of my generation that I have tremendous respect for you. You’re doing so much more with much less time, and you do it enthusiastically. I see you at the swim meets and soccer matches. I see you in the preschool drop-off line. I see you in the grocery store. I see you treading water and never, not once, calling for a life raft or telling the dad next to you that you’re getting tired. I know you’re exhausted and confused and yet simultaneously thrilled that you’re the kind of dad you are.
It’s okay to say that this gig is hard. Your wife won’t hate you or blow you off (wives please don’t hate your husbands or blow them off). Your friends will be relieved. Believe me, it feels so much better to get it off your chest, hairy or not.
I also know this: we have to make fatherhood easier on our sons. In a way that I feel my generation of mothers has come to realize – that you can’t have it all and something always gives – and accept without feeling defeated. I want my son to enjoy fatherhood the way I enjoy motherhood, without being trapped by it or defined by it.
Happy Father’s Day, guys. You’ve earned it.
well said…happy Father’s Day to your man, Mike.
Beautifully said… I recently got several Father’s Day Gift emails, promoting t-shirts, mugs, etc. and they all were about dads being lazy… I thought it was a horrible campaign and so disrespectful to men(on their day even!) who are expected to be it all and are anything but lazy in my book. I just kept thinking that if they had done a campaign like that around Mother’s Day there would have been an outrage… Your post points out exactly how I was feeling at the time.
Yes, this portrait of today’s dad as the bumbling fool has to stop. It’s definitely not how things are in my house!
I love this post and I love that when I had my husband read this just now he said ‘ great writer AND she likes beer’!
No really, you hit the nail on the head.
Also, I recognize the stopwatch/swim meet picture as that is us every other weekend it seems! We are swim parents too:)
I do love my beer! Yes, swim team is in full swing, eh? Just another thing my awesome husband does – all the swim team volunteering. My job is to pack the cooler!
My wife Amy sent me this link after thanking me.
Thanks for the story, I thnk expectations on both moms and dads are rediculous, but we only have ourselves to blame for caring about what others think.
We are a curious generation with lots more resources at our finger tips and can quickly see what super moms and dads are doing in Facebook and compare it ourselves while our parents just looked across the street or next door (keeping up with the joneses).
Our dads wanted a career but didn’t necessarily make spending a lot of time with their kids a priority. Now we WANT both, but there are still as many hours in the day.
With that said, I’d rather take these times with lofty expectations, than my dad’s time with next to none.
Yes, even though we don’t have it all figured out, I love how involved my husband is in everything. The relationship he has with our kids is simply amazing. Thanks for your comment.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! It is sooo true. AND I think that our husbands sometimes “catch it” from their fathers for helping us out with a “Well, I never did that!” Kudos to all the dads out there helping the moms and being present in the lives of their children!
Yes, I would especially have loved to see my husband’s mother (she passed away in 2001 before we had kids) reaction to how involved he is with the kids. I know she would’ve been thrilled.