The Dad Gig

In my next life I want to come back as a man.

While the joys of parenthood are countless, in a battle between fatherhood and motherhood, the dad gig is definitely the best gig around. But what about the all the warm, fuzzy feelings of motherhood, you ask? Oh there are plenty! It’s just that the lack of sleep, utter exhaustion, broken self-image, and long, overwhelming to-do lists that tip the scales in the other direction. That’s not to say fathers don’t deal with some of these negative aspects of parenthood. They do. Sometimes.

I love watching my husband play with our son. You can tell he is absolutely head over heels in love with this baby boy; and, the feeling is mutual. Our tired, cranky baby could finally be drifting off to sleep for the night, but when dad walks in the door his eyes instantly brighten, and he wants to play. Sleep? Who needs sleep?!

Mom does. That’s who.

As I woke up for the 5th time last night to attend to my whimpering child, I found it incredibly difficult to block out the sound of my snoring husband. So I lay there, thinking. Whimpering in one ear. Snoring in the other. And, that, boys and girls, is why Mother’s day is a bigger deal than Father’s day.

Another night passes, and another day arrives. The baby is up bright and early, ready to play. As I write this, it is 9:30AM. My little guy is down for his first nap.  My husband is closing in on 12 hours of sleep. Yes, 12 hours.

If you are dad and reading this, you are rolling your eyes right about now. Yet another blog post about how hard it is to be a mother, and how easy dads have it. That would certainly make for a passionate and heartfelt blog post; but, this is not it. My point is the dad gig is a pretty awesome gig. So if you’re lucky enough to be dad, I hope you are enjoying every second of it. For every dad out there there’s a mom who envies you.