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What Your Father’s Day Card Reveals About You

June 12, 2013 at 10:46 pm , by 

2 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack,

As I picked out my own dad’s Father’s Day card today, I noticed how they are designed for all the major types of dads. For example, there’s…

The Serious/Sentimental Dad– His card features a sophisticated black and white photo of dad and child.

As well as…

The Funny Dad– Expect a witty cartoon, a humorous photo, or some kind of lighthearted joke on his card.

And similarly…

The Fart Joke Dad– Like The Funny Dad, but specifically capitalizing on flatulence.

But don’ forget about…

The $1.99 Dad– This card tends to feature more generic language, steering away from words of affection like “dad” and “love.”

And of course…

The $.99 Dad– Here’s to one step away from not sending a card at all.

Yes, no kidding: At Kroger, they have both a$1.99 section as well as the $.99 section in the Father’s Day area.

It’s an interesting thought- that kids and adult children have to subconsciously figure out whether they have a serious/sentimental dad, or a fart joke dad, or a $1.99 dad.

I wonder if it changes throughout the years based on the child’s age.

For example, I could totally see you getting me a fart joke Father’s Day card when you’re 10 years old.

It sort of reminds me of an article I read onYahoo! Finance called “What You ‘Like’ On Facebook Can Be Revealing.”

For example, in theory, because of the fact I “like” Non-GMO Project, Occupy Monsanto, Julie Borowski, Ron Paul, Parents Magazine, and Bruce Springsteen on Facebook, I am evidently making it somewhat obvious that I’m a a socially liberal, fiscally conservative, vegan dad who has accidentally caused his 2 and a half year-old son to now get upset in his car seat if he doesn’t get to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits album on the way to school in the morning.

To me, a Father’s Day card is just as indirectly telling of what kind of dad one is perceived to be, at least in that moment, that year by their child.

I will never look at Father’s Day cards the same…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Top photo: Night Drive Long Exposure, via Shutterstock.

Bottom photo: Knocked Out, via Shutterstock.

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Reminder About Father’s Day Weekend 2013

June 11, 2013 at 10:10 pm , by 

Dear Jack,

It’s always cool to be a dad, but this week is prime time! The Father’s Day cards and gifts have been bought and it seems the Internet is a bit more abundant in “dad stuff” this week. I’ll share a few examples of what I am seeing…

Here’s a funny music video about poppin’ bottles; the song totally gets stuck in my head when I watch it:

And there’s this classy commercial Sears put out about dads being heroes, which I definitely approve of:

“He’s just super, ’cause he’s my dad.”

I like this guy’s comment on the video on YouTube, which itself earned 67 thumbs up:

Matt Young 2 weeks ago

“I’m surprised. Typically, the media picks on men and fathers.”

And then, of course, there’s this blog post, called “24 People Who Are Really Nailing This Parenting Thing.” It’s hilarious! From the dad who “helps” his daughter on the swing while drinking a beer…

via: img1.xhkong.com

To the dad who does his best to protect his daughter…

via: reddit.com

To the dad who evidently dresses in costume every day as he waves goodbye to his son…

via: pleated-jeans.com

I feel like in the past 3 years as I’ve been “daddy blogging,” I’m starting to noitice that I’m spending less time writing about examples of how dads are portrayed as idiots in media, and instead, spending more time spotlighting the examples of dads being celebrated instead.

That’s really exciting for me to see.

Sure, some of these examples I’ve shown today are lighthearted and show the dads poking fun of themselves, but that’s part of the celebration.

Fortunately, it’s becoming taboo for companies to portray the dad as a goofball. But it goes back to the concept that it’s better to make the crowd laugh yourself than to have them laugh at you at your expense thanks to someone else.

I definitely don’t mind laughing at myself. After all, it’s in my wiring to want to make people laugh… I’m a guy!

For the rest of this week, dads will officially be publicly celebrated. But in many households, dads are celebrated more than one special week a year.

 

Love,

Daddy

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I Am The Childless Creepy Guy In The Men’s Restroom

June 11, 2013 at 8:20 pm , by 

2 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack,

Over the weekend Mommy and I took you to the pool, just in time for the weather to turn overcast, therefore demotivating us from our desire earlier that morning to want to go swimming in the first place.

Being a guy who drinks a minimum of 3 liters of water a day, I naturally had to disappear for a minute or so, soon after we arrived,  as Mommy helped you get your feet acquainted with the cold water in the kiddie pool.

As I made my way to the men’s restroom, I saw a woman standing in the doorway.

Actually, “standing” is not a good word to use. “Anxiously pacing, rocking back and forth, biting her fingernails” would be the way I would like to describe it; because that’s clearly how I remember her.

Turns out I was only steps behind the woman’s 11 year-old son as he walked into the restroom. I’ve been in a similar situation before, so I braced myself for the 90 seconds of awkwardness that was about to unfold.

Right in the middle of the boy trying to do his thing, in the stall next to me, I heard the mom yell (and I meanyell) into the restroom:

“Ethan? Ethan! Are you okay in there? Ethan?”

Of course, in his embarrassment, he delayed answering right away.

So again, his mother screamed, “Ethan? How is everything? Are you okay in there?”

This time he managed to murmur a “yeah” just loud enough for her to hear.

The boy and I were in perfect syncopation. As we washed our hands side by side at the sinks, I wanted to say, “Hey man, sorry about what’s going on right now. I know you feel embarrassed by what’s going on. Plus, I know you know I’m just a regular guy, not a creep. In fact, I have a wife and a 2 and a half-year old son just down the hall. I want out of this situation just as much as you do.”

But I didn’t say a word or even look at him.

It was a long 90 seconds, but it finally came to an end as both the boy and I left the restroom at the same time, with the boy’s mother waiting for us there at the door with a very worried look on her face.

This story isn’t about the mom who I am making out to be a wee bit overprotective, or the 11 year-old son who I am making out the be the embarrassed victim of that wee overprotective mom.

Instead, this story is about me; the random guy who just happened to walk into the restroom the same exact time as that boy.

The way I see it, there’s nothing I could have done or said differently to the boy or his mom to help the situation; that would have only made it worse.

So I guess what I am saying is, sometimes as a grown-man entering a public restroom without his own son in tow, I just have to  be okay with certain assumptions being made about me.

In other words, sometimes I just have to let 90 seconds of awkwardness happen, like they did just a few weeks ago at the city park.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Photo: Men’s Restroom Sign on Black, via Shutterstock.

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The More You Accept My No, The More I Say Yes

June 6, 2013 at 11:03 pm , by 

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The “Just Checking” Cheerios Ad, Minus The Racist Trolls

June 5, 2013 at 10:11 pm , by 

2 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack,

A lot of buzz has been going on over the past week or so about the “Just Checking” Cheerios Ad.

On May 28th, Cheerios released an awesome 30 second ad on YouTube; I’ll get to the awesomeness of it here in a minute.

First, I have to teach you about what are called “Internet trolls.”

I really like Wikipedia’s definition of them:

“In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is someone who posts inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[3]“

So, Internet trolls laced the comments section of the Cheerios ad with hateful messages of racism.

As you’re about to see in the ad, a biracial family is featured. The Internet trolls used this as a target to upset people… and unfortunately, they were very successful.

They were so successful that the comments on the ad have since been deleted. Plus, no one can leave a comment on the ad anymore, because of the Internet trolls’ success of basically making it seem like America is full of outspoken racists.

I choose to believe that while America can be awkward about differences in race, as I know I tend to be because I fear asking questions about other races and cultures, because I might seem uninformed, unexposed, and accidentally racist, I just don’t think there are not truly enough outright racists in our nation to shut down the comments section on a Cheerios ad that features a biracial family.

(Also, see To Be Colorblind, Racially Speaking…)

But I do believe that America has enough select sick people to cause a riot on the Internet. They knew the masses would be angered. They knew that the overwhelming majority of Americans are not racists and would get quite a rise out of the trolls’ racist remarks.

Unlike the traditional racist who is very ignorant yet extremely focused on hating a certain group of people, Internet trolls are careless about who they indirectly hate. I don’t know which is worse…

Okay, I told you that the “Just Checking” Cheerios ad is awesome. Here it is:

As a daddy blogger who is extremely focused on spotlighting ads, TV shows, and movies that feature dads in a positive and active role, I love (!) this ad.

I noticed that the acting is superb. It’s so believable and candid, that I actually caught myself thinking, “What a cool family.”

Then I reminded myself they’re just actors.

This ad is fresh, funny, and promotes good health. And for the fact that you eat Cheerios in a plastic baggy every morning on the way to school, I can even say that we honestly support the product they’re selling.

That doesn’t happen very often in this health-nut family you’re a part of.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. Beware of Internet trolls, even in the comments section of this, too!

 

Photo: 3D Cute Furry Monster, via Shutterstock.