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The reason for their sudden appearances on our neighborhood parks may not be so wonderful—the result of this recession's layoffs—but happy dads (yeah, I'll say it, even a few DILFs or two) are always welcomed to share a shady spot and shoot the breeze with us moms.
It's interesting to watch the interaction: first a wariness, then a tentative welcome. Soon, everyone's sharing goldfish, carrot sticks and juice boxes.
Wish someone would slip in a Thermos of mojitos. I'm just sayin'...
Guys, don't ever presume the mommy clique on the picnic bench is a club in which no boys are allowed. In fact, the password that gets you in every time (along with a choice spot on the bench) is "Wow, your kid is so well-behaved..."
That's music to any mother's ears.
In The DILF –my book which comes out next summer –one man cracks the code, only to discover he's opened a Pandora's box filled with the misperceptions, fantasies and desires his female neighbors have about him and his now-disintegrated marriage. I'll have an excerpt up soon.
Seems that the timing couldn't be better for my book. As NBC's TODAY SHOW points out in the video piece above, there are enough dads out there now, that they're forming their own papa posses. (Wow! Did I just coin that phrase? Sure what the hey, I'll take credit for it...)
One very interesting comment is one dad's admission that sometimes the men talk about "our past lives before we had children."
Hmmmm. You mean, when the impulse to go out at night wasn't given a second thought ("Oh my god! Who can we get to sit with the baby?")
Or, you could sleep in and snuggle (or whatever) without be tapped on the shoulder by a toddler wanting to play?
Or when conversations revolved around work and sports and all things coupledom, as opposed to diaper-training and schools and all things parenthood?
Welcome to the club. No, we really mean that. You came through initiation with flying colors.
Or, as one guy put it when the reporter asks if his Mr. Mom stint makes him a better dad: "It makes me a good-enough dad."
Reporter: "Hey, give yourself some credit!"
Dad, conceding: "It certainly makes me a better dad."
Your wife will agree.
