Practice, practice, practice

    In my last post, I detailed how I had a major mouth malfunction at a milestone moment in life.  So you don't think I am a complete dweeb, I decided to relate a story of words coming out of my mouth that hit the mark.
New- but familiar situation;  my youngest daughter was going to her senior prom.
    We were at the photo shoot at the parents of one of her friends and it was time for me to take my leave.  Before I went, I walked up to her and her friends and began to admonish them.  "Now there will be no drinking at this dance or at the after party - right?"
    "No!" they all answered in unison. 
    "And no drugs?"
    "Of course not!"
    "And there will be no hooking up?"
     By now my daughter was becoming exasperated.  She moaned, "Come on Dad!"
    I said, "That's not an answer!  No hooking up?"
    "NO!"
    I rubbed my chin for a moment, staring at them.  "Wow, that sounds like a really boring party!"
    I was an instant hero.

On to the postal pile


Dear Dad Dude,
    My wife and I are having a disagreement about our 11 yr old son.  She wants to let him play Pop Warner football and I am afraid he's going to get permanently injured.   He is really good in sports and he really wants to play, but the thought of him being laid up is too much for me to handle.  I just can't fight the both of them.  How do I get my wife to come to my side?
- Determined to Win

Dear Winnie,
   Well, thank you very much!  Now no one can say this blog is cliche!
   Okay, here's the thing.  You asked the wrong question which leads me to believe that you do not compromise well.  The question should be, "Am I being unreasonable?"  The answer to that question is, no you are not.  BUT, that is not to say your son should not play football.  The three of you should sit down and discuss the problem rationally.  Maybe you know someone that has an old football injury that you can get an opinion from.  At the very least, I would talk to the coach and find out about the safety precautions the team and the league take.
    You cannot protect your son all his life.  Sometimes he is going to be in less than safe situations.  But you also do not need to allow him to take unnecessary risks.  I guess the three of you need to decide how necessary this risk is.  You three are just going to have to make the call.
    There.  That's enough talking out both sides of my mouth.  I know I was absolutely no help at all.  Oh well - Good luck!


Well, that's it!  Another installment in the can. If you read it and even kind of liked it, send a link to everyone you ever heard of!   Also, please know that I am in no way trained in family counseling or am I a doctor or any kind of relationship professional.  Agree or not - the choice is 100% yours!
 
     Thanks for reading!

Write your questions to; daddude@wi.rr.com



  

The Masculine Mystique

     Re-reading my last post, I now realize that I can no longer blog and drink wine at the same time.  I think I might have gone off the sappy end there.  Any female readers, I'm sure will disagree, but if there are any guys perusing this, I think they will concur.
     Us guys are taught from little on to not show weakness.  Why is that?  Some would say it's because that's the way we were raised.  Others would say it's because we are hardwired that way.  Still others believe that its in the hormones.  Here is what I think.  I think it's all of the above.  And here is something else I think; It is a good thing.
     Okay, it is probably not a good thing to bottle up feelings and let them pile up inside for a future explosion, but that is not what I am advocating.  I'm saying that a good deal of life is a battle field.  In battle, to show weakness is to court defeat.  Did I show weakness in my last post?  Is the blogosphere a battlefield?  Yes and yes!  I'm a man dammit!  I am competing with millions of other blogs for readership!  I'm not going to tap into the thirty-five or so males that read blogs by showing weakness!
    I feel better now.  Thank you.  Time to get to a letter from one of my readers  -  me.

Dear Dad Dude;
My 5 yr old son seems to cry at the drop of a hat.  All it takes is a skinned knee or a bump on the noggin and the tears flow like a river.  I'm constantly telling him to man up, but that seems to make him cry all the more.  Any suggestions on how to handle this?
No Wuss in Wichita

Dear Wuss;
Okay, despite all the macho stuff I wrote above, you sir - are a jerk.  If you should keep this behavior up, you will turn your son into a jerk as well.  I'm just guessing here, but I am fairly sure that your old man was also jerk, wasn't he?  Break the cycle of jerkdom going on in your lineage!  You can comfort your son without coddling him!  If he skins his knee, praise him for trying hard at whatever he was doing.  Then stick a bandage on it and let the kid cry it out!  He's only 5 for goodness sake!  5 year-olds cry!  If he was 15 I'd say you might have a case, but he is 5!

That's it!  Another installment in the can. If you read it and even kind of liked it, send a link to everyone you ever heard of!   Also, please know that I am in no way trained in family counseling or am I a doctor or any kind of relationship professional.  Agree or not - the choice is 100% yours!
 
     Thanks for reading!
PS.  I am in the Big Apple this weekend... so NO BLOG FOR YOU!  See you next Wednesday!

Write your questions to; daddude@wi.rr.com