He's Such a Great Dad!

This past week Dave took me to an appointment. We had Joel & Alayna with us, while Julie was in school. Dave kept the kids entertained in the waiting room. As we're getting ready to leave, Dave is buckling Joel in the carseat and an older woman comments "you're such a great dad." Okay, I don't disagree with this statement at all, but here are my thoughts on this comment. For one, this is not the first time we've heard this from little old ladies. Any time Dave has one of our children with him, or all of our children with him, he gets stopped so people can look at our kids, and make comments about what a great dad he is. Secondly, I was standing in the waiting room, too, getting Alayna's coat on her, and no one said, "you seem like such a great mom."
First of all, what is it about men and children that get people to make adoring remarks? Any time I have the kids with me, whether it be one child, or all of them, I receive the comment "you really have your hands full," or "I've been there, it's a lot of work," or my all-time favorite, "you'll miss this when your kids grow up." Seriously, will I miss grocery shopping in WalMart at record speed while Julie wants every item she sees, and Alayna tries to grab everything off the shelf, and Joel would rather be held than ride in his carseat in the shopping cart????!!!! Okay, maybe I will look back and miss some of that. But, just once couldn't the little old lady stop me and say "you seem like a very involved, attentive, organized mom, with very well-behaved children, who are obviously cared for because their clothes are clean and their noses have been wiped." I mean really, is this too much to ask??

Okay, I get it. Who wouldn't look at the man in the picture below, and say, "he seems like a great guy, and he's probably a wonderful father." Well, they'd be right, he is!