Super Moms and Pool Dads
My Life is an Episode of Bluey
I try to go to sleep early. But, I never can. So I toss and turn for an hour or two, waiting for my mind to clear. Which usually includes leaning over and blindly tapping ideas/tasks into my phone. Which is how we got to this week.
Okay. I know. The lede of this here newsletter is often a cloying attempt at being philosophical and parenting. Sometimes it lands. Most of the time it is, well, kind of sad. Either way, I appreciate you sticking with me.
This week, instead of a meandering, “What should I do as a parent?” lede, I’m just going to say: If Anisa is anywhere near as great as this kid from India, all credit goes to her mother.
Take a minute to watch this interview.
Pool Dads
My life is an episode of Bluey. It was just a matter of time.
Let me start with an update: We have graduated from playgrounds and soccer fields to swimming pools and ballet classes. Which has significantly widened the gap in parenting skills.
See, I used to think I was good at logistics. Plan a trip, make sure most of the pieces were in place, wing it when I realized something was missing. In most cases, a good time would be had by all. It was a reputation I managed to hold onto for the last couple years.
Then came the swimming pool.
Toya, now known as Super Mom, was relentless about making sure Baby Girl gets into swim lessons as soon as possible. A few weeks ago, she texted me, “They have 1 spot left for their toddler class … There are never any swim lesson spots available when I look.”
A flurry ensued as we compared calendars. “This is so clutch,” Toya wrote. “This school never has openings.”
Yes, Super Mom, it was clutch.
Then came the first day of swim lessons. I thought it was going to be as easy as soccer. Grab a towel, throw on a swimsuit, and we are off. I am wrong more often than I will ever admit. This time, though, I was incredibly wrong.
Before I knew it, Toya had everything organized way beyond a towel and a swimsuit. In fact, she didn’t even bother entertaining my idiocy. Super Mom just said, “Carry these bags.”
I did. And I will. For eternity.
Pool days are now the Daddy version of the walk of shame. Multiple canvas tote bags slung over my slumping shoulder, each one of them crucial to said pool date, me knowing I could never, ever, be this organized.
In "The Pool,” when Bluey realizes Dad has completely dropped the ball in terms of any and all logistics around their pool day, she says, “I think Dad is actually boring. Mum is way more fun.”
Deep cut, Bluey. Deep cut.
Of course, Mum promptly appears at the pool to say, “I brought all the swim stuff you left behind!”
My fragile male ego.
Watching Toya patiently explain to Baby Girl the rights and wrongs of the world, offering a cuddle at just the right time, gently managing my dumb Dadness along the way, is nothing short of incredible. Yes, I could be sad and bitter about my inadequacies as a parent. Or, I could be thrilled by the fact I married a Super Mom.
I am so lucky to have found Toya. And Anisa could not have a better Mom.
Happy Mother’s Day, Super Mom.
Watching
Like everyone else, I am deep into Last of Us. But, if I am honest, it is also starting to feel like a mashup of Game of Thrones and Walking Dead. Will be interesting how they land this season.
Also, you should definitely watch this short documentary my nephew, Yari, made about his Dad. So good.
Cooking
Mexican food was the request for Mother’s Day. Along with a flan. Hat tip to my friend Pati Jinich for some great recipes, as always.