As if my last entry wasn't long enough
2 things I wanted to tell about
As I was typing that last entry, I kept hearing on eof our cats. Meow meow meow meow meow. He would't shut up. Finally, after 10 minutes of listenign to him, I went to check. He was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He just sat there and stares at me. I asked him "What's the problem? Are you lonely? Bored? Forget what the sound of a cat is like??" He just gives me a dumb look. But then, moments later, as I stood their taking a leak . .. the whole "Lassie/ Timmy" thing kicked in. I thought "Shit..what if he was tryign to tell me something?"
I find him still sittin gthere, and when I ask him what's wrong, he takes off to the kids room. Both boys are fine. Lance is fast asleep, ---Logan had rolled over, and was uncovered. I covered Logan back up, and the cat walked away. Weird.
CHICKFILA TODAY
I've often commented , and seen recent discussions, on how stay at home dads are perceived. From losers, to unemployable, to pervert - it runs the gambit. Try being the only male in a playgroup. Or the only male at the park with your kids. Some women have actually pulled their kids out of playplaces after I start playing with my kids. Im not loud, or forceful, or too ugly.
Today, something neat happened to Chickfila. I took the boys there for lunch - and we decided to play before we ate (this is to somewhat prevent Logan from playing so hard that his tummy gets upset, or as we have heard it called...Party till you puke!). The playplace was in choas! About 10 kids running and screaming and acting nuts! I stroll in - 35 years old, 6'1, haven't shaved in 2 weeks, hair all a mess, with my 1 and 3 year old. As soon as we sat down to take off shoes, the place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It freaked me out. I looked around, thinking that either the kids had been an illusion all along, or had just been abducted by aliens . But they all stopped their rampage, and were gathering around me. For a moment, CHildren of the Corn came to mind, but I overcame this image. They all started talking to me about what they had done that day, and who was going shopping afterwards, and who was nto being nice, and who could get to the top of the playstuff fastest. It was a mixture of feeling like Santa Claus/EVERYONES daddy / and a teacher all at once. I cried havoc and released my hounds of war - and play resumed. The girls wanted to play with Lance...the boys went tromping up the playstuff with Logan. When I heard Logan yelling, or stomping his foot, I'd yell "PLAY NICE", and heard about 5 voices respond "Okay".
It wasn't too long after our entry that I noticed that I was the only adult in there. Each of these kids had a parent - mostly moms were present at the store(I know this from watching tables of only women stand up and get their kids, a few at a time/over time). One woman seemed disturbed that I was climbing up the playstuff with Lance, and yanked her 2 kids out of the playarea.
But worth noting is that for each of these kids, there was an adult at the store that was doing something other than paying attention to their kid. I cherish the time I've been allowed to spend with my kids. I've witnessed their first everything. Although the kids playing there today were about between 4 and 7 yers old, I think that some parent are really missing out on opportunities to share time with their kids. Time spent with my sons today not only gives me a lifetime of memories, but hopefully will bridge the gap to the future, when they remember not to do drugs, or not to smoke, or all that "I remember when my dad..." stuff that I want them to hold dear.
Shannon
As I was typing that last entry, I kept hearing on eof our cats. Meow meow meow meow meow. He would't shut up. Finally, after 10 minutes of listenign to him, I went to check. He was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He just sat there and stares at me. I asked him "What's the problem? Are you lonely? Bored? Forget what the sound of a cat is like??" He just gives me a dumb look. But then, moments later, as I stood their taking a leak . .. the whole "Lassie/ Timmy" thing kicked in. I thought "Shit..what if he was tryign to tell me something?"
I find him still sittin gthere, and when I ask him what's wrong, he takes off to the kids room. Both boys are fine. Lance is fast asleep, ---Logan had rolled over, and was uncovered. I covered Logan back up, and the cat walked away. Weird.
CHICKFILA TODAY
I've often commented , and seen recent discussions, on how stay at home dads are perceived. From losers, to unemployable, to pervert - it runs the gambit. Try being the only male in a playgroup. Or the only male at the park with your kids. Some women have actually pulled their kids out of playplaces after I start playing with my kids. Im not loud, or forceful, or too ugly.
Today, something neat happened to Chickfila. I took the boys there for lunch - and we decided to play before we ate (this is to somewhat prevent Logan from playing so hard that his tummy gets upset, or as we have heard it called...Party till you puke!). The playplace was in choas! About 10 kids running and screaming and acting nuts! I stroll in - 35 years old, 6'1, haven't shaved in 2 weeks, hair all a mess, with my 1 and 3 year old. As soon as we sat down to take off shoes, the place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It freaked me out. I looked around, thinking that either the kids had been an illusion all along, or had just been abducted by aliens . But they all stopped their rampage, and were gathering around me. For a moment, CHildren of the Corn came to mind, but I overcame this image. They all started talking to me about what they had done that day, and who was going shopping afterwards, and who was nto being nice, and who could get to the top of the playstuff fastest. It was a mixture of feeling like Santa Claus/EVERYONES daddy / and a teacher all at once. I cried havoc and released my hounds of war - and play resumed. The girls wanted to play with Lance...the boys went tromping up the playstuff with Logan. When I heard Logan yelling, or stomping his foot, I'd yell "PLAY NICE", and heard about 5 voices respond "Okay".
It wasn't too long after our entry that I noticed that I was the only adult in there. Each of these kids had a parent - mostly moms were present at the store(I know this from watching tables of only women stand up and get their kids, a few at a time/over time). One woman seemed disturbed that I was climbing up the playstuff with Lance, and yanked her 2 kids out of the playarea.
But worth noting is that for each of these kids, there was an adult at the store that was doing something other than paying attention to their kid. I cherish the time I've been allowed to spend with my kids. I've witnessed their first everything. Although the kids playing there today were about between 4 and 7 yers old, I think that some parent are really missing out on opportunities to share time with their kids. Time spent with my sons today not only gives me a lifetime of memories, but hopefully will bridge the gap to the future, when they remember not to do drugs, or not to smoke, or all that "I remember when my dad..." stuff that I want them to hold dear.
Shannon
posted by Darth Daddy @ 1/10/2006 01:17:00 AM
2 Comments:
At 8:01 AM,
KC said…
I had a similar experience yesterday at the skating rink. They are open in the mornings for "lessons" which attracts smaller kids with their parents AND a couple of daycare providers who come in every week with their charges. Once I sat down with my new boy (in his carseat) and started lacing up my girl's skates, these little boys were all over us, asking questions, shouting out "I have a little brother/sister too!" and otherwise ruining my chance to have a quiet morning watching skating and reading my paper. It's possible they wanted/needed a man's approval or discussion or something. Your experience sure sounds that way to me.
Separately, I agree that it's odd that you (and I) would be the only parent in a play area. I don't intend to get on equipment at Chickfila, for example, but I sure do intend to listen for problems and watch for crazy kids who can only hurt themselves and others. What are those other parents thinking? I know you can't hear much when you're on the other side of the wall. (And, wasn't there another daddy's blog post somewhere recently about a guy's experience at Chickfila?)
At 5:21 PM,
Idaho Dad said…
I've seen this for years... The moms are usually there with a friend and they just sit and chat, totally oblivious to their kids. The few dads I've seen at the playland are on their cellphones or reading a paper. I'm the only one who sits and watches, or plays with, my kids.
I also get kids coming up to me... I've always attributed this behavior to the kids being completely starved for a father's attention. They probably see their dad for just a few minutes each night. My own dad would leave for work before I got up, then arrive home long after I went to bed. I'd go 3 or 4 days without seeing him. Eventually he just left entirely and it wasn't that big a change.
Oh, and that cat story -- classic! The cat wanted to make sure Logan was warm. Cute. One of our cats has started laying with daughter at night, and he'll wait until she's asleep before jumping off the bed and going to his own room (the cats sleep in the basement at night). I really appreciate the extra help at bedtime!
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