Dads have two seperate lives. There is their Dad life at home, and their life at work. Most try to keep them separate but there is that one special day of the year where the boundary becomes blurred and kids see what Dad does for a living (hint: it is usually really boring) and Dad's co-workers get to see a bit of his home life. That special day is Take Your Kid to Work Day (TYKtWD for those who love acronyms).
TYKtWD is an amazing day in the office because the mood is always lighter and the cafeteria serves chicken fingers and mac & cheese. No one gets yelled at because there is a five year old always within earshot and no one with a soul wants to rip into a Dad when his son is sitting there with his coloring book. You can almost do no wrong on this holiday.
Dads on this day are conflicted: they have to get this report done but they also have to make sure their kid is having a good time. It is almost impossible to do both because once Dad buckles down with excel little Tommy gets that blank stare on his face. The same one I have when I am in just about every meeting. Dad uses that special tone in his voice to see if Tommy is having a good time, and hand holding to the conference room is a requisite. Conference calls are always great because you can tell who is a Dad and who isn't. Non-Dads are matter-of-fact, down to business. Dads are always covering the phone to instruct his kid what not to do. "Don't put that pencil in your nose!" "Go apologize to Stacy for hitting her with that paper airplane!" "No you cannot photocopy your butt!" Makes for great entertainment in an otherwise dull budget meeting.
It is also great because the Dads share a genuine interest in the kids other than his own. Today in a meeting one Dad asked the kids in the room what they thought of the proposal we were talking about. None of the kids had any idea what we were discussing (it's not like I did either) but it was cool to see how Dads interact when not surrounded by their peers. Dads rule.
I apologize if this was not that funny and a little insightful but it makes you think about those around you who are Dads. They may seem like idiots with their heads up their butts, but at least the vast majority of them are actually people. Except for that one dude in finance who you swear is a robot. He must go under his desk at night and power down until 9AM the next morning.
TYKtWD is one day we at That's So Dad look forward to doing when we are Dads. It's an excuse to dress your kid up and show them off. Long live Dads.
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