Live Free or Dad Hard
As a first-time parent, you learn all kinds of things. Many of them are really cool and exciting. Others can be pretty tricky to deal with. Yeah, tricky.
One of the difficult things I learned firsthand, is that sometimes, kids just want Mom. No more, no less. I hear that sometimes it’s Dad they cling to, but I honestly think that’s kind of rare.
And why wouldn’t they want Mom? She’s awesome. She’s the ultimate caregiver and they know it. It’s a wonderful thing, but unfortunately, it can leave Dad feeling left out in the cold if he’s not careful in dealing with it.
It’s something I’ve grappled with over the last couple years to varying levels of success (I’m not exactly a champ at handling rejection), but I’d say it’s something that gets easier with time. At the end of the day, I love my daughter and she loves me. I’m always sure to carve out time for just the two of us; the carousel at the mall, the McDonalds or the park down the road - places like that have become our “spots” where we can have fun together. And I think it’s really helped.
That being said, Hazel the cat never ever tires of my attention and requires more of my time than there are hours in the day. Yes, she still wakes me up in the middle of the night so that I can pet her, having completely forgotten the hours that I spent petting/holding her leading up to the time that I tried to go to sleep. Guess you can’t please everyone.
i have an idea on how to develope plush of caaats. Try to get a company that make plush then ask them can they make plush of Olive and Hazel.
Hey, it’s worth a try, right? 🙂
Right.
I’d buy a set 😀
Aw, thanks! I’ll have to seriously look into it.
Great one Matt. Full of good advice. You are the best dad ever.
Well, thanks; that means a lot 🙂
Hazel, I would buy a plush animal of you and Olive.
Yes, very young children seem to cling to Mommy a lot of the time. I’m sure Georgia realizes already that you are the best Daddy she could ever have.
When she gets a little older, she will tell you just that. She will always be Daddy’s little girl !!!
Aw, thank you. We’ve had a lot of great times, that’s for sure.
I like this one. My cat Gypsy is exactly like Hazel with me — she wants all the attention I can give her for as many hours of the day as there are, and then some. At least I don’t have a kid who might want to get in her way by clinging to me… 🙂
Thanks; glad you like it! Oh those clingy cats. What to do with ’em 🙂
My kids want dad during the 5 minutes from when I walk through the door after work. Then it’s back to mom.
Ah, so she’s one of those lucky stay at home Moms? My wife and I both wanted to be a stay at home parent, but neither of us got to.