Parental blliss and back again!

{Diary of a stay at home dad} Week Thirty Four

This last week has been a very strange one for me let me start by telling you my tales with Poppy. This little bundle of joy, love and happiness caused me to experience two of life's emotions that are very far apart from each other. Lets start with the first one. Happiness I had a day of pure parental bliss where everything just seemed to click together. Poppy woke up early greeted me with a big kiss and a cuddle, held my hand down the stairs and sat on the bottom step and watched me as I made her breakfast. Then got dressed without complaint and most shockingly asked me to comb her hair. (which never happens)

Once we dropped Ruby off at school her behavior continued to surprise me. Poppy waved at every passer-by saying ‘’hello’’ to everyone, she even helped me clean the house. (really) after this Poppy and I sat the table as we shared lunch together. While a piece of sandwich was still in her mouth Poppy stretched both her little arms apart, (I thought she was just tired) but when I asked what she was doing her reply was ‘’This is how much I love you.’’ For me that is one of those parental moments you want to keep in a bottle. Have any of you felt the same? still trying to recover from my daughters recent revelation she asked to sit on my lap we shared a huge cuddle together in silence. The moment was perfect and then Poppy let off a massive blow off that sent ripples down my jeans giggling saying ‘’I need to go toilet dad’’ and in doing so sending me straight back to reality.

Now with the previous days event's still in my head I was hoping for the same behaviour again. How wrong I was nothing was going right. Poppy kept screaming and wouldn't do anything I told her she spent most of the day with puffed up eyes where she was crying so much. (in a state of constant tantrum) Once Sarah got home I was ready to hand my notice in. (really) We tried to eat dinner together, but Poppy was still not co-operating at all. Then, one of those moments happened when you either go into a complete rage or you find some hidden strength deep down inside you that only your partner can find when you feel you have no strength left. We worked together I hid all my raging emotions behind a pleasant smile.

Each time she would run from her chair we would take it in turns to put her back stating the words ‘'you must eat some of your dinner darling'' after the tenth time something just snapped into place and Poppy finished all her dinner we all went on to have a great evening and as I was putting Poppy to bed she said ‘'Daddy'' me ‘'yes darling'' Poppy ‘'Sorry Daddy love you - so much see you in the morning'' Me ‘'that's Ok love you too'' I went to bed that night with the same feeling as the night before.

Ruby is such a beautiful person with so much love that there is enough to go around the whole planet. As I was walking her to school one morning I could see something was bothering her I asked her and the reply was ‘'Daddy am I ugly'' shocked at this, I said NO you are not darling who said this to you. Ruby then went on to tell me she has seen pictures in magazines of girls with beautiful faces who were really skinny. I said you are absolutely perfect just as you are darling and let nothing or nobody ever tell you otherwise.

I walked home that day shocked and angered that my little girl had been made to feel this way. Ruby is only six years old and is already being made to feel inadequate by the media's false perception of perfection. I've known for years that the pictures in magazines were not necessarily %100 accurate and that they photoshop out any imperfection the human eye can see, but I never really gave it a second thought as to the message it was sending out to Men and Women everywhere my own children included.

This image of perfection, which is based upon lies and can never be achieved. Please don't think this is a women's only issues. I spend way too long in front of the mirror doing my hair and being conscious over what I'm wearing trying to hide lumps and bumps too. Have you seen a male manikin lately they have eight pack abs and muscles in places I didn't know existed. I long for the day to walk past a shop window and see a manikin with a little beer belly or one wearing jeans showing a little muffin top because that's what's real.

Let's walk more happy in our own skin and send a message out to our children embracing all of our imperfections. Wouldn't the world be a very boring place if we were all perfect?

Feel free to share your own experiences in the comments below I would love to hear your stories too! Thanks for the likes and please continue to share it really does help.

Until next week......

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