Man Of The House

I used to receive great little tidbits of fatherly advice from my Dad. And, interestingly enough, the advice that he would share with me didn't seem like all that much when he was relaying them to me. But now, I think back on those nuggets of wisdom and cherish them.

I have tried to do the same with my son Alexander.


I travel quite a bit for work. And, every time I do, I usually sit down with Alexander the night before and have a heart to heart chat with him about what it means.

Alexander has always been a helpful little person, assisting with chores around the house and he has always been working right at my side at various tasks and DIY projects in the home. And he takes his responsibility very seriously.

So, respecting that, I usually sit him down prior to my departures to pass on the "man of the house" duties to him.

Alexander and I, summer 2012 - Swiss Family Robinson tree house, Walt Disney World, FL

This is how it went last time.

Mark:  I'm heading to New York tomorrow and will be there for almost a full week. You know what that means, don't you?

Alexander:  That you'll be spending most of your time looking up on the side of the tall buildings to see if you can spot Spider-Man?

Mark:  Of course. How could I visit New York without doing that? What I mean is, you know what that means around here, right?

Alexander:  That I'll be the man of the house.

Mark:  That's right.  And you know what your main job as man of the house is, don't you?

Alexander:  Yes.  Listening to Mom.

Mark:  Exactly.

Again, my son has nailed it.

In celebration of what it means to be the man of the house (until she gets home), here's Rodney Carrington's "The Man Song" in which he sings:  "'Cause a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and I'm gonna do what you tell me to.  Because I'm top dog around here . . . but I've been neutered....


To all the "men of the house" out there . . . Happy Father's Day!