This one goes out to all the husbands who are truly partners, who don’t demand praise for changing a diaper, who don’t act like doing the laundry is a gift to you, the domestic CEO.
I know that every family is different and every relationship is different and every household is different, but in a world where it feels like men are often put down for never doing enough or being enough to the women in their lives (and trust me, I’m super, super guilty of this!), it feels like it’s time to put out a little thank you to the men in our lives who make it all possible.
So if you happen to have a man who is “one of the good ones,” a man who will always support you, a man who is always there for you, consider this our collective thank you.
If you’re the type of man who works hard so his partner can stay home, never complaining about the commute, or the moments you miss, or the 10 million times you’ve walked through the door only to have a baby thrown your way so we could escape to take a shower for the first time in days, thank you.
If you’re the type of man who works hard to support your partner in her career, never complaining about bearing the burden of sleepless nights, missed dinners together, endless rounds of listening to how stressed she is, even though you know deep down, she loves her job and you’d do anything to see her happy, thank you.
If you’re the type of man who ignores the crowds of little old ladies who just want to fawn all over you when you dare take your kids out to a public establishment without a female parent in your presence and genuinely thinks it’s bizarre that you get treated so differently, thank you.
If you’re the type of dad who changes diapers like a pro, never failing to rise to the occasion and accidentally “not notice” that the baby pooped right through her pants like some guilty fathers I know, thank you.
If you’re the type of dad who doesn’t change diapers but makes up for it in 10,000 other ways, doing things your partner truly appreciates more because diapers just aren’t your thing (although, whose “thing” are they really?), still, thank you.
If you’re the type of dad who stood proudly by your wife’s side during labor, never flinching or even requesting so much as an orange juice, insisting we looked beautiful the entire time, even though we’re 99.99% sure we pooped on the delivery table, thank you.
If you’re the type of dad who totally hit the floor and passed out during birth, but recovered quickly enough to show us that it was all worthwhile to see that first look of love on your face when you met your baby girl, thank you.
If you’re the type of dad who makes your kids belly laugh like no one can, throws them in the air until they are dizzy and we’re a tad worried they’re going to barf on you, or the type of dad who prefers to educate your kids on the merits of literature and calculus, thank you.
Because in the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of husband, partner, or dad you are, because we’re all different, as long as you’re there for us.
So thank you, to all of you — because you’re all the good ones.