I like to think that I’m a pretty good dad. Most days I’d go so far as to say that I’m an awesome dad. Wednesday was not one of those days. I wasn’t terrible, the kids probably didn’t even notice, but if they made a mug for “The World’s OK’est Dad” I’d probably be drinking coffee from it right now.
My intentions were good. The forecast called for rain in the morning, a clear but very hot afternoon, and some more rain in the evening. Most of my errands and chores had been completed the day before and I was looking forward to an afternoon by the pool with the girls. A load of laundry, a few minutes spent working with Alaina on her numbers and I was ready for some sunshine.
At noon I was still ready. The downpour seemed to be increasing, a massive headache was coming on, and I was growing increasingly irritable. Usually a rainy day off would mean a trip to the mall or to see a movie. There is an indoor playscape with arcade games and bumper cars about twenty minutes away that we had discovered earlier this year.
Instead I cracked a beer, told the kids to amuse themselves, and alternated between researching fantasy football stats and trying to score a new staff for my Book of Heroes war wizard.
There were no crafts done, no games played, no puzzles put together. The teenager never even left her room until almost 3:00 and the five-year-old spent the entire day wearing nothing but underwear and a Batman mask. I’m impressed she was able to play Panda Jam on her tablet for as long as she did without taking it off. At some point, she was upset about something and went up to her room, but instead of finding out what it was I took the opportunity to remove the batteries from her toy trumpet, remind myself to find out where that came from and exact revenge, and changed Peppa Pig to Olympic women’s archery. Whatever it was, she got over it.
Eventually, Kayla made an appearance. She ate a salad, exercised in the basement for a while and took a shower without prompting. Alaina had bowls of cereal for her first two meals but had apples and pork chops for dinner. She had a bath and I’m reasonably certain they both brushed their teeth at least once.
Since developing self-awareness, we’ve all spent most of our lives at least somewhat concerned about how other people perceive us. Social media and our new culture of over-sharing have amplified this tenfold. Nonstop comparison and passive competition as parents can be good; it encourages us to try harder. It can also be silly and exhausting.
The bottom line is they both ended the day alive, clean, and fed. We all aspire to be the best parent we can. To be Ward Cleaver, Cliff Huxtable, or Phil Dunphee, depending on your age. The truth is that there are going to be some days when we end up just a little bit closer to Al Bundy.
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This post was previously published on ThirstyDaddy and is republished here with permission from the author.
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