7:50 am: I can hear my wife off in the distance blow drying her hair—I know it isn’t time to wake up so I drift back to sleep.

7:59 am: I am half asleep as I hear my wife walk across our bedroom. She is ready for work so my day is about to begin. She gives me a kiss and tells me to get up. I hate mornings, but I love my wife so I stir into consciousness.

8:08 am: I am still in our bed barking orders at our older two daughters,”Bella! Did you brush your hair and your teeth?!” Bella, our oldest, is always on the ball and rarely does she have a challenging morning. “Mady! What are you doing?!” Madeleine, our middle child, like myself hates mornings and rarely has a smooth morning. “I am going potty.” Mady says sheepishly. “No she’s not, she’s playing with Tigger.” Bella lets me know the 411. Mady loves our cat Tigger and basically anything that stands in the way of morning progress.

8:13 am: I am still in our bed, now only Mady remains upstairs to be barked at. Bella is downstairs practicing piano while Sophia our youngest sleeps through the maelstrom. “Madeleine!! Have you brushed your teeth yet?!” “All she needs to do is dress herself and brush her teeth. Why does it always take so long?” I wonder to myself as I hit snooze for the 34th time.

Is this what society is saying to dads across America? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. If you have been shopping for a Father’s Day card for your husband/father/father-in-law you may have had to sift through the less than flattering clichés cards that portray dads in a none too favorable light. Moms have to deal with cliché cards too, but theirs aren’t based on them being horrible people. According to the cards, moms cook, clean, have rollers in their hair, juggle many things at once, and eat chocolate. Dads on the other hand are very different. According to the greeting cards I surveyed this year, dads are poor caregivers, drink in excess, constantly golf and or fish, pass gas constantly, grill food 24/7, seldom leave the cozy confines of their couch except to spend hours in the bathroom, and if they ever get lost on the way to the bathroom they never ever ask for directions.

As I went out shopping for gifts for my wife and both of our mothers, I began to notice how society markets gifts for moms.  Really what started it all was that I was having a hard time finding the right card for my wife because a good majority of cards are designed with the traditional roles of men and women in mind.  Now, an aside on buying cards, I hate buying cards and I think

Being exclusive for the sake of being exclusive is wrong in all its forms.  It's strange looking at life from the side of the fence I am on, on one hand I am this average guy who has a great family and a terrific group of friends that are always there through the good and the bad.  On the other hand I am a stay at home parent that really doesn't fit the mold of the "stay at home parent" that is very gender specific.  Although I have had my growing pains in the latter, I have come through it all as a wiser person and parent.  I have some very close mom friends and I think that for the most part they regard me as an equal.  Apparently though, I was mistaken--at least in one instance.  I recently received an email to a joint email account that my wife and I share and it was from a stay at home mom friend.  She emailed me to let me know that she was starting a "wine club" that would meet monthly and she wanted me to pass the invite on to my wife.  I asked if I could participate as my wife isn't much of a drinker and that she wouldn't get much out of the group (actually I would rather go as a couple, we do everything together).  I was told that it was a girl thing and the reason the group was being formed was to allow ladies to have a night away from the family (all husbands need not apply) with the backdrop of wine and wine tasting.   First, approaching my wife about a wine club in my presence and saying no guys allowed is the equivalent of Roo asking Tigger to join a "honey appreciation group for bouncers only" in front of Winnie The Pooh.

*Caution: This article is meant to break down stereotypes. The generalities in this article I speak of is only to illustrate points and garner intelligent discussion, if at anytime you feel offended take one of these:*

This article is about a topic that I have been silently pissed about for weeks/months as I read posts on numerous mom blogs that are basically bashing men as being inept childcare providers. I have read articles that straight up ask questions like if wives trust their husbands to watch their children. W-T-F? I would link to said articles however my point isn’t to chastise those who think this way, but to examine why this is.