It's a Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom World

Several readers are falling out of their seats right now, knowing my prolific, long term, and totally inexplicable use of the phrase 'your mom' for no good reason. Not even bothering with good 'your mom' jokes, just the words themselves and countless variants (your dog's cat's mom, etc.) that typically result in something approaching Pee Wee's Playhouse Secret Word-style pandemonium. But I digress...

I suppose it's actually a dad world, or at least still a very gender role-based one. I've talked about how I'm the sole dad currently attending our parent-baby group (representing all men any time a daddy or husband subject comes up - no pressure!) -- and I possibly won't be there as often after my parental leave wraps up. (Incidentally, yesterday was another good class, though again the men-folk who had been 'waiting for another dad to come' still didn't join me to discuss, I dunno, the Patriots or something.) Now granted, the class is at 9:30 am, so many working parents -- moms or dads -- wouldn't be able to attend that.

But on Monday, I took Zachary to the doctor to get a few minor ailments (cough, rash, etc.) checked out. This was around mid-day, and I'm guessing many of the other kids that would be there at this time would be sick; wellness appointments are usually early in the morning. So one would expect a few dads to be there to take the children to the doctor. Nope. In a packed room (where I tried to keep Zachary in a corner while kids coughed away, too young to know to cover their mouths) with more than a dozen moms (cue the bells and whistles), I was again the sole guy over the age of four.

I'm not trying to pass judgment or anything, nor does it make me feel particularly uncomfortable to be in what is apparently a 'rare' role, but it does make me realize just how much society still appears to place so many expectations on mothers. Sure, many families offer mothers the opportunity to be able to choose between working and staying at home, or even balancing the two with part-time, job-sharing, telecommuting, etc. But beyond a short parental leave, do many dads seriously consider these same options?

Sorry to wax philosophical, I'm just starting to wonder how I can manage to spend this much quality time with Zachary (and supporting Meh) once I'm back full-time at work in a few short weeks. Thankfully my job is very generous and flexible on hours and such, but it's still going to be a challenge to find a path to what them corporate folk call a 'work/life balance'.