Dads today are different...

Nana and Papa had 8 kids together starting in 1949.  "Your Papa changed 1 diaper in the entire time we were raising all those kids." Nana would remind us of this all the time. No sticky tabs or a garbage can changing back then either. Cloth, safety pins, and lots of washing were the norm.

Papa went to work and Nana ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.  Six rowdy boys and two strong-willed girls.  Her hands and hips were always full, usually a wooden spoon in her hand (for cooking or whipping, could have been both) and always a baby on her hip.

Papa wasn't a bad dad but things were different back then...

A mother's job was to raise kids
A father's job was to make money.
That's just the way dads were back then.

When I was a kid, my dad taught me, my brother and all the neighborhood kids how to ride their bikes. He let me sit on his lap and "drive" the car into the driveway.  He pulled us out of school and took us on surprise trips to Disneyland.  Video camera in hand, he'd cheer for us at all of our events-capturing moments, memories.

He also traveled quit a bit.  He was a businessman and his job was to make the money while my mom's job was to raise us.  He'd always jump in with the strong arm when necessary but mostly, the day-to-day child rearing was mom's job.

I had a great dad.  He was fully involved in our lives, attending conferences and dinnertime conversations but it was different back then...

A mother's job was to raise kids.
A father's job was to make money.
That's just the way dads were back then.

Today, nobody bats an eye when Dad has his little one strapped to his body.  Changing diapers has become a matter of "Who found that baby wet," rather than solely mom's job.  There's no such thing as "Dad duty," because parenting is a now a two person job.

It's normal to see pictures of dads getting their nails painted, playing dolls, and knowing all the words to the latest movies their kids are obsessing over. Nights out have given way to evening walks with kids, baths with bubbles and book reading before bed.

Dads these days are equally raising babies and parenting their children and the best ones wouldn't dream of being embarrassed when they tell you, with complete certainty, "I have the best kids."  It's just different now...

A parent's job is to make money.
A parent's job is to raise kids.
That just the way parents are today.

Yeah, dads today are different.