Moms Versus Dads

WARNING! This is a tongue-in-cheek look at Moms and Dads. I really don't want to hear the "facts" - particularly from the women in my life.

Trust me, I already know them...

These are the "facts" as I choose to present them.

Since this is my blog, that is exactly what I am going to do! ;-)

With Mother's Day coming up on us this weekend; I can't help but think of how differently we, as a society, think about Moms and Dads.

Mother's Day is a huge deal; as it should be. Moms are very special people. I don't think most people understand how the whole Mother's Day and Father's Day thing looks through a Dad's eyes, though.

We Dads sit in church on Mother's Day listening (and hopefully agreeing) as the pastor extols the great worth of the Moms in the congregation. Much attention and praise is heaped upon them. After listening to most Mother's Day messages, one would be hard pressed to imagine that the Earth could even continue its orbit around the sun if it were not for the unending efforts of Moms.

After church, Dad and the kids take Mom out for a wonderful dinner where she is, again, treated like royalty. The restaurant staff fawns over the Moms; often even giving them a flower as they leave as a reminder of how much they are appreciated. Upon getting home she receives cards and gifts; often of dark chocolate, and is encouraged to relax and enjoy her special day.

Then comes Father's Day.

Merely the fact that Mother's Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1908 and recognized as a National Holiday in 1914, while Father's Day was not recognized until 1972 should give you a pretty good idea of how this all works.

We sit in church on Father's Day and hear the pastor preach a message that reminds us (over and over again) about our responsibility to care for our family and provide for our family and be the leader in our household. We are admonished for our failures; while all of the women in church sit smirking and shaking their heads as they watch their brow-beaten husband from the corner of their eye. They nod in agreement as the pastor exhorts us to love our wives and raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

After church, the appropriately deflated dads head home where we stand outside in the heat and rain grilling the family's Father's Day meal while the rest of the family sits in the air conditioned comfort of home watching a baseball game on television. The family eats the meal together and the kids give Dad a card and a landscaping tool as a thinly veiled reminder that he really should be out in the yard doing something "productive" instead of sitting in the house.

Yep, that's pretty much how Mother's Day and Father's Day work.

Now before you ladies get all bent out of shape and start the, "I carried that baby for nine months, blah, blah, blah," argument; keep in mind that we men endured your mood swings, strange cravings and constant complaining about how fat you had gotten for nine months, too!

As I think about it; we endure that for pretty much twelve months a year; each and every year - whether you are carrying a baby or not!

Moms agonize over every bump and bruise the kids get, or every risk they take.

Diane freaked out each time a batter hit a ball back toward Joseph when he pitched for the North Prairie recreational baseball team, or when Matthew stood his ground with a baserunner charging toward home plate.

Dads tell them to rub a little dirt in it and get back on the bike, or into the game, or...

I thought it was awesome and yelled encouragement for Joseph to charge the ball or for Matthew to lower his shoulder and take the hit.

Now, I'm not arguing that being a Mom is a very hard and thankless job. In fact, I will be the first to agree.

Most Moms work like a scullery maid for the other 364 days each year; 365 in leap years, so I suppose it's appropriate that we let them have one special day set aside to honor them. It would just be nice if it worked both ways and I could just sit on my sofa watching a baseball game or race on Father's Day like I do every other Sunday instead of having to work on "my" special day!