You see them now and again in my liberal neighborhood, and they’re always so relaxed, rolling with their kids in the dirt at the playground; calmly reading a newspaper at the coffeehouse while the kid drives a hotwheel along the bench; looking relaxed and unfussed and handsome in their hipster trilbies or blue Oaklandish tees with an adorable toddler on their shoulders.
They seem so calm – maybe they didn’t remember extra clothes, a water bottle, the favorite stuffed bunny, but they don’t seem to care. They’re just taking the world as it goes.
It’s just that man thing, isn’t it? Less stuff to worry about so less worry. The optimism of the young, white, well-off bay area guy is justified, because things are pretty great for him. I just want to relax sometimes, not worry about all that household executive crap and just have some of the confidence of these men.
And then I pass a guy struggling to put his screaming baby in a backpack, looking harried and close to panic, obviously wishing with all his might that the mother would come and work that magic…
Then I pity them.
(T-shirt)
1 comment:
I don't pity them a bit. I'll admit to often being jealous of the Spouse in his role as stay-at-home-dad. The glory of the stay-at-home-dad is that he gets all the points and kudos for just being there. He's the best husband ever for playing with the kid all day. Unlike the stay-at-home-mom, he doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about whether everything is clean or tidy.
Of course, it's easy to be jealous, when I'm sitting in my office and don't have to listen to a baby scream all day long.
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