Dad Involvement

So I'll admit I've gone missing from the posting world lately, not for lack of interest or things to discuss, but sheerly from lack of time. In the last month, I think I have actually been in the office for 5 days...my time out commandeered by having been selected for jury duty (argh).

Anyway, I'm now in Chicago for the Marketing 2 Moms conference, where I was invited to be a guest speaker on how the new dad is actually influenicng the way marketers talk to mom. It's been an interesting 2 days, being mostly immersed into the mommy mindset and motivators.

But I'm not a mommy. And I won't ever be a mommy. So I guess I won't ever truly relate. But I think it's important to note that mommies won't ever be daddies either. For as much as women say men don't get what it's like to be a mom, it's just as true that they don't understand what it's like to be a dad. And that's okay.

What if we spent less time seeking validation for what it's like to be who we are and more time actually focusing on who we should be? Does it matter that she's a mom, I'm a dad, he's a sports fanatic, she's a fashionista? Aren't we all just trying to get by, and be successful -- and I daresay happy -- in this thing called life, with kids in tow?

I'm still mulling it all over, so if anyone has any thoughts for starters, chime in, please!

Virtual Veritas

I stumbled across a new fascination: an online confessional for dads, and an online confessional for moms. I am pathetically addicted to reading the musings, lamentations and one-liners of dads and moms who are living the challenge of marriage with children.

I've been howling at some of the funny ones, frowning at the shameful ones and feeling deeply bad for the ones that seem so...desperate. But what I can't help but feel is some sort of comfort in knowing that those small moments when things seem so great -- or so bad -- aren't just my moments.