By now, I'm sure you've seen this video....
I loved it. Jeff hated it. This is us battling it out via e-mail...
Jeff's take on it (seems to have a lot of anger for such a calm and gentle dude):
This is a pretty good article articulating why I hate that video. I despise the new trend of making parenting out to be a depressing chore that leaves no time for anything else. It's bullshit, at least in our circle and to everyone I saw share that video. Parents still run marathons, go out to concerts, dinners, watch Game of Thrones, drink wine, etc.
Parents, with normal, healthy kids that feel that this "job" accurately describes raising children are assholes.
Do kids demand attention? Lots. Is it boring. Sometimes. Challenging? Absolutely. But is it the "toughest job"? Fuck no. I'd take hanging out with my kids over lots of jobs. Night security guard? C'mon no contest. Effort for a task does not correlate to the enjoyment extracted from it. Something can be challenging and equally enjoyable.
This article doesn't mention that fathers are also not completely useless.
I understand that a single mother, with no family or available daycare, and a colicky 1 month old may have a different opinion.
I Am a Mom. I Am a Myth. I Am a Legend.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_
My response:
1. It was for Mother's Day so it's not about fathers....or anyone else, intentionally. Plus, all the moms I know (myself excluded) do a shit-ton more work than dads.
2. Even when moms (and dads) are out drinking with friends, at work, running marathons...they are still parents first and foremost. The responsibility, love, planning, worry, etc. never ends and has no boundaries.
3. The video said it's the toughest job, not the worst job and I agree 100%. Just the way marathons are tough...it doesn't mean we don't enjoy (or at least get some satisfaction from) all the ups and downs and hard work involved...we do, which is why we run more of them and have more kids.
I bought this coffee and muffin at our corner coffee shop at 8am this morning (I took Julien with me and Colette and Jeff were still asleep). It sat there mostly untouched until 9:30am....because I was too busy trying to get Julien and Colette ready to daycare and out the door and their immediate needs (food, clothing, cleanliness, safety, etc.) will always come before mine. I'm home now, kid-less, and can write this post, drink my coffee and eat my muffin (which, by the way, no one interrupts in a professional office setting). I'm sure if I was a SAHM, I'd be eating this muffin for lunch and pouring the coffee over ice with Kalua.
Was my morning enjoyable? Yes. Was it tough? Yes. And I will do it again, or some version of it, for the rest of my life and I wouldn't want it any other way.
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