Managing Dad Duties I Austin Moms BLog

So… Yes, I’m a dad. I have three rambunctious and active boys who all have very different and unique personalities. My oldest is nine-years-old and loves both his baseball and wrestling teams. My middle is six-years-old and seems to be much more interested in karate opposed to organized sports. Then there’s my youngest who is five and outscored all of his teammates last fall in what was his first season ever playing soccer! These are only a few of many explanations for how different they are. I find that the most difficult facet of fathering three starkly different personalities at their young age is balancing the attention they all individually need. I am only one dad and can’t be the baseball coach for three teams at once! This presents a real challenge to the never ending balancing act of identifying and offering the right amount of direction, discipline, and love necessary to ensure they all eventually develop into fine young men.

Every year Father’s Day rolls around and, without fail, seems to sneak up on me over and over again. This is the one holiday each year that never seems to be on my radar. There are so many other days that consume my thoughts, aside from your standard holidays. We’ve got Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, wedding anniversary, mom’s birthday, boys’ birthdays, grandparent visits, kindergarten graduations, school programs, and so many more. I spend so much time and energy thinking about all of these events, along with making and managing baseball, karate, and wrestling practices that Father’s Day just never happens to be centered within my cross hairs!

However, I must declare that I am married to the most caring woman in which any man could ever dream. When our boys were younger, my wife carried the bulk of the weight when it came to changing diapers and soothing crying babies. She was so good to me that I rarely had to wake up in the middle of the night to care for a crying baby. She was the one who knew which cry meant what, she was the one they cried for when they realized she walked out the room. She was, and still is, their everything.

Now that the boys are older and no longer soiling their britches (for the most part that is!), the bulk of this weight has transferred over to my shoulders and I have gladly embraced this weight with open arms. I happily run across town to get to karate practice and soccer/baseball games, just so my wife is able to get her time in at the gym, or to have quiet time at home.

Despite my annual disregard for Father’s Day, my exceptional wife always makes that particular day a special one. Typically when this day nears, I think to myself, “She deserves this day so much more than me.” I could not be the involved father that I am without the life support she provides for our family.

If I had my way, I’d replace Father’s Day with a second Mother’s Day because she is the one who deserves to be honored even if it’s for a second special day for moms. I believe that for a Father to reach his true potential as a mentor and/or hero for his children, he must have a supporting wife and mother to those children. The mother of my children is the one who makes my Father’s Day so special.

CoonsBoys

— Jason Coons

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