Guys Are Parents Too!!!

My best friend wrote a blog today that really got me thinking. There was one thing she brought up that's a sore point with me too. That's all the guys out there who aren't willing to step up to the plate and be parents. Those are the guys who give someone like me a bad name before I've even got a chance to let a girl get to know me. I'm nice to a girl. Oh my God, that means I've got some kind of hidden agenda. I'm sick of it. I want to be allowed to be nice to all my female friends without having them worry that I'm up to something.

I also want to have children and be made to feel like I'm not being a man if I decide to raise my children the way my Mom decided to raise me. When she was raising me, it was the height of the feminist movement so she was put down by all the other women around her for her choice. She was supposed to be working or watching all of the other neighborhood children for free to help her "sisters" who wanted careers. I know that would happen to me from the guys if I decided to make the same choice. Guys are supposed to work and women want to work and where does that leave our children? Babysitters, day care, or other family members have to do the raising for us.

That's not good enough for my child. I want my child to be raised by a full-time parent. I don't care which parent. It could be me, my wife, or a combination of the two if we happened to work different shifts. The point is that quality time is not good enough for children in and of itself. They also need quantity of time. As a student and teacher, I saw kids who were raised by outsiders not care about their studies or their behavior. They had issues with anger and didn't know how to relate to those around them. On the other hand, children of involved parents wanted to succeed and were very friendly to be around. Ok. I'm done ranting for now.

To my fellow guys out there, shape up your acts!!! To the women, you have my utmost respect.