Submitted by tony on April 24, 2008 - 10:34am.
Being the new kid on the daddy blogoblock, I decided last
night to head on over to DBR's for a drink and to meet the other dads who
somehow find the time to blog.
At the door, I'm greeted by some guys at athomedad.org. "See some ID, bud?" After giving me the once-over, they also
patted me down, making sure I'm legit.
Eventually, though, I get in. "Have
fun in there, champ." These guys are
alright, and as I'm going in, I can hear them chatting about battling stay-at-home-dad transition
blues.
I walk into DBR's and the place is packed with dads of all
shapes and sizes. Dads are laughing and
discussing and arguing. A bunch of moms
are in there, too.
I first head over to the loudest table where twittering DiscoveringDad is obviously
having an intense discussion with some parents on how
moms can motivate dads. A bunch of
moms sound off on being burned by lazy dads.
A few of ‘em seem to be barely avoiding a melt-down.
Speaking of which, DadGoneMad
was sharing a beer with some friends at the next table, relaying a story about
his daughter's complete
and utter meltdown around not wanting to close a door. The older parents at the table have a weird
smirk on their faces, probably best described as the you-ain't-seen-nothing-yet
smirk. At that moment, I'm thankful I've
got a son.
I head over to the bar.
RebelDad is talking to a large group
about Solo
parenting when mom is traveling for business, and of course, a few folks
are getting riled up about equality. But most are
nodding their heads - they've all been there, done that.
LookyDaddy's
telling us about his recent
vacation adventures without the kids to Belize City.
What a nice reminder to slow down a little from our hectic lives and get
a little sun-burned. BusyDad also slowed down to celebrate
and reflect on his son's sixth birthday. Wow, I hope when my son turns 6 (4 years to
go), I'll be able to look back and see that I took time to enjoy the peaks and
valleys. Sometimes, though, the reality
of getting things done sets in. I hear SuburbanDaddy laughing
at the thought that this week is apparently TV
Turn Off Week
MetroDad is
asking a bunch of awesome pseudo-hypothetical
parenting questions. One he brought
up that I've been thinking about: "McDonalds Happy Meals: Ruthless case of
aggressive fast-food marketing? Or greatest parenting tool ever?" FrugalDad
asks whether allowance
or commission is better (and even whipped out a spreadsheet). I also throw out a question on how to bring
in our
different cultures/backgrounds into our parenting. Joeprah wondered if "timeoutable" is a word (it is
now!)
A couple beers downed, I head over to the john. In between the stalls, BuildingCamelot is relaying a
hilarious story about how
two kids learn to cuss. Dorky Dad
talks about his wife's various "looks", including the "you're-so-disgusting-with-all-your-bodily-function-jokes"
look.
On that note, time to call it a night. I head out with Sweet Juniper, who shared a
few thoughts on his
re-entry into solo stay-at-home-dad awesomeness as his wife heads back to
work. I wish him well and hope he'll be
back to DBR's soon.
Driving home, I'm feeling pretty amazed at the dads I just
met. We're from all different walks of
life, but our kids and our role as full-time dads bind us together. My cell
phone rings, and I quickly snap out of my sentimental cheesiness. It's BuildingCamelot tweeting me with a
list of tweeting dads and husbands. Oh,
another msg - it's DiscoveringDad tweeting about another hang-out
tomorrow at his place. See ya guys
there.
