Here's to you, kings among men!

i put this  up , this morning , in all my active games..i run or play

n my way for sunday football.... Happy FAthers  day to all the Fathers  who are there  for thier Kids....for Step  fathers  who act like father...and  for the Single Moms  who have to be  both  Mom and Dad!!!

I got an unexpected honor this year...I don't have kids.  When people ask me about it, I point out that having kids is not a one-man job, and I have yet to find a woman who'll put up with me (at least, one that hasn't immediately set off darn near every warning bell in my being with some behavior or other...)

But, in spite of that, my church congregation called me to work in the nursery, with kids aging 18 months to 3 years old.  I'm sure to many people, it seemed really counterintuitive (and it was a big surprise to me, as well), but in spite of not having any kids of my own, I've got a lot of experience with nieces and nephews and friends' kids, so it really has been a good fit and I've enjoyed it immensely...

All of which is background to make sense of this story.  I got home from work yesterday to find an envelope tucked in my front door.  It was from the leadership of the congregation, acknowledging that while I have no children of my own, I've been a good example to the kids in the congregation (or, at least, I was when we were still meeting...thanks, Covid...)  And, in that regard, they wanted to wish me a happy Fathers' Day.  I feel more like an eccentric uncle to all these kids (and many others that I've associated with...I had one of my friends point me out to her youngest son on a Zoom call a few weeks ago as 'Uncle...<my name>', which immediately elicited a lot of humorous commentary from everyone else on the call who was NOT introduced as an uncle or aunt...

So, it's been an interesting year from that perspective.  I'm not a dad...but I am, apparently, doing a pretty good job as an adult male role model, in spite of my many flaws...

(Of course, this all further complicated my emotional chaos over this weekend.  Fathers' Day is extra-difficult for me, because not only has my dad passed on, but he died the Friday before Fathers' Day, several years ago.  So there are a lot of emotional conflicts going on right now...)

It shouldn't be, but it all too often is.

Although if you're raising a daughter, I do recommend drafting grandma to help with certain issues as your daughter approaches the teen years. Back to school shopping, for one. God that was hell.

I was lucky..had a  wife through it all... I saw my daughters be  single  moms as they  got rid of the  baggage they had the first time..and? My youngest had to get rid of the alkie  he had...

  they  struggled...they  prevailed..they always knew i was here to help..so?  As  Facemaker said?.. it isn't a one man ( or One woman) job...Support is always needed..no matter how much you feel 'i got this"

In reply to tmagann (msg # 4):

No, the point I was making is more precise than that.  It is, literally, impossible to have a kid, solo...that's a team effort.  What happens after the kid is there is another matter altogether, and the growing number of single parents out there shows that RAISING a kid can, in fact, be a one-person task (exhausting as that would be...my niece is a single parent...I'm fourteen years older than her but you'd never guess it, seeing us side by side).

And I've got to say, anyone who is raising a kid on their own?  I have immense respect for you.  If it's more than one?  Even more respect, although at that point I may also start having some questions about your judgment, but that depends largely on the circumstances behind the kids getting there (aforementioned niece made some very bad choices including giving second, third, and fourth chances to a guy who just kept proving that he was never worthy of the first chance...but she's got a big heart...)

So, if you're a dad, a mom/dad in one, a surrogate dad, a stepdad, or in some other way are filling that role, my hat's off to you.  That's a demanding task.

While I am not a single parent, I had to play the part of one for the last three months while my wife and older daughter were away taking care of my in-laws.  Full respect for anyone who can manage it on a full time basis; I was barely holding it together after a few short months.  And I can't even begin to imagine how my sister does it with five kids, after the death of my brother in law last year.

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And for those who aren't clear, facemaker was saying that you physically need two people to make a child.  Or at least a female.  Even parthenogenesis requires a female.  (:-D)

Given the nature of this forum...
"All You Zombies" by Robert Heinlein

Don't bother with the movie. They continued the story a bit past where Heinlein stopped.