Motherhood is undoubtedly ranked among the toughest jobs on Earth. It is not considered, however, the most dangerous – incredibly though, there have been reported instances that loving mothers have caused series of injuries to their spouses or children. The injuries are often not serious or fatal, but they are injuries just as well.
I have great respect and admiration for women who have chosen or are planning on taking the duties of motherhood. Consequently, I give a distinguished acknowledgement to all the men who have elected to cling unto fatherhood for the sake of their children – regardless of everything that has been thrown at them.I am not a mother, but I have experienced the wrath of motherhood – wooden ladles seemed to be the disciplinary tool of choice and the gluteus maximus probably still remains the well thought-out spot to land the ladles. Fortunately for my children, most of the ladles my wife uses to cook are family heirlooms and represent too many treasured memories; and my wife considers it disrespectful to land them on another set of butts. I, on the other hand, have learned dodge other things thrown at me in the name of motherhood; and I am getting quite good at it. I have managed, since my childhood years and now parenthood, to catch some of the things that were intentionally thrown at me. In spite of the motherhood enlightenment, from time to time I am caught off guard and things have landed on very specific areas of my body – at the very least, areas that parents warn their children never to hit. I, like so many other men who have entered into the world of parenthood and have since stopped keeping track of the number of times they have been hit, have knowingly signed up for a much more dangerous job – fatherhood. We have (and I wish for you to join, if you have not) chosen to remain with the women in our lives who, pursuant to long established cultural norms and modern statutes, are believed to be entitled to be a little mentally and emotionally challenged and therefore, obligated to vent their frustration on us. Hooray for the women and wow for the men!I do have one complain about the unfair treatment of fathers in the parenthood equation. Why is it that the government accords women maternity leave prior to the onset of the labor pains and a month after childbirth and not offer a single day of paternity leave to the fathers?I have – and I am sure many of the dedicated and committed fathers out there will attest to this – gone through darn exhausting physical labor pains. I will not deny that my wife experienced excruciating pain when she was pregnant with my kids, but during of her pregnancy to childbirth and unto the months that followed, I literally experienced labor pains – in addition to being cussed at, called names, pinched, and told to apply for annual leave if I was obligated to attend to my wife and our new born child.I really think women deserve all the honor and respect for choosing to be mothers and likewise, the men who elect to keep pace with women. But then again, I also think that, in all fairness, if the fathers and the mothers are partners in the field of parenthood, each is deserving of a remedy for his or her specified and expected labor pains – or is it labor of pain? Do you think so?
