Reply #7: So far I've had three sucky ones in a row. [View All]

Three total.

First year, I was away for a month on business, putting in long days as a free-lance contract employee. I got back on Father's Day, and handed my wife the new Dell Inspiron I had bought her with part of my earnings. She handed me a shirt she made.

Second year, I was stressed out because I'm the stay at home dad and not built for combat duty. Wife was spending 12 hours a day 7 days a week at work, her first year in a tenure-track job. The munchkin was letting me get no dissertation work done; we'd just gotten back from a month in Poland and my advisor wanted a report. And my patience was fraying with child care, since he had just mastered walking. What do I get? I made breakfast, wife gave me a card and "A Dad's Guide to the Toddler Years", and she went to work.

This year, my wife's school ended for summer break and she immediately went into conference mode; tenure-track, remember, year #2? 15-hour days for a week or two, every day, to get ready for an overseas conference; then a week overseas, leaving me as stay-at-home dad with the toddler waking up each morning, giving me one look, and crying, 'Mommy home!' 'Talk mommy!' And if I looked at him so much as cross-eyed, he'd say 'bye-bye' and close the door behind him as he left the room. (He's already a bundle of snarkiness at 2 1/2 years old.) She returns from Europe, puts the next paper together with more 15-hour days, and she's off to another conference. She returns, spends two days here, and takes off with the child to visit her parents out of state for two weeks. At least there's peace and a chance to work on the long-forgotten diss project.

My father's day present came in the mail on Saturday. Another card and a book .......



"The U.N. Exposed: How the UN Sabotages America's Security."

With the inevitable question when I called her on Sunday ... 'How did you like your present? I thought you'd like it!' Arrgggghhhhhhh. "Must be great. It has rave reviews on the back cover from Rudolph Giuliani, Ann Coulter, Christopher Hitchens, Jesse Helms, Rich Lowry ..." And again I say, Arrggghhhhh.

I love my wife; I love my kid. But I swear ... given the choice between Father's Day #4 or a root canal, root canal's looking awfully good.