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A few weeks ago I was invited to an event hosted by the Chicago Dads Group in Andersonville.
The Chicago Dads Group is a group of DADs who get together for play dates, events, share advice and support for one and other. There are groups in LA and New York, the Chicago Group is currently 142 members strong and growing.
I was thrilled to be invited. As a DAD ( I won’t use SAHD so get over it), things around the old home stead can get a little lonely. Trying to hook up play dates with moms can at times be tricky. BTW– Moms, just because I ask you for a play date does not mean I want to sleep with you! That would only end up with the two of us living in a one bedroom apt. with 212 kids and a job at the GAP. It just means I would like our kids to play.
I digress. Having other guys in the same boat to talk to, hang out with get advice from and generally pal around with is cool and this first meet up was something I had looked forward to for a while. It actually is open to all dads, however there are a lot of DADs there.
Coming from the burbs, I left extra early just in case there was traffic. On that particular day, there was not, and I fond myself walking into Hamburger Mary’s half an hour early.
The only interaction I had with any of the other DADs was online, so I only knew the other guys by their profile pics. which weren’t very big. As I walked in I saw a couple of guys at the bar, who might have been in the group. I walked up and as I was asking “are you part of the stay at home dads group?” I realized they weren’t.
One of the guys was a cross dresser and the other really super gay( I checked with two gay friends and they cleared the words “really super gay). The really super gay fellow responded, “I’m not, but I could be your daddy.”
I ordered a beer and said, “six more of these and we can talk.”
This is where it gets weird. The dude dressed like a lady (great song) asked me, “you stay at home with your kids and don’t work, don’t you feel weird?”
I almost spit up my Mary Poppins Pale Ale, “pardon me?” I asked.
“Your wife works while you stay at home, I could never do that.” Said the dude in the dress.
This was conversation heaven. “Well that’s the common misconception, a lot of the guys I know, do have jobs, but work from home or generate income in other ways.”
“Still seems weird” he sneered and turned his head to me.
As I was about to launch into a “listen buddy!” Speech, some of the other DADs came into the bar and our night got back on track.
The plan was to meet at Hamburger Mary’s for dinner then head over to A Walgreens parking lot, stay with me, to play video games in the Game Truck, which is a 50 foot tricked out RV with wall to wall video screens and enough video games to make a teenager beg for mercy. It’s like a traveling man cave that also does birthdays and bar-mitzvahs.
I am not a video game guy but that didn’t matter, what did matter was meeting a bunch of guys who loved their families and enjoyed looking after them. There was no shame, no weirdness, just an overwhelming pride in being a father.
Old dads, young dads, dad bloggers, hill billy dads, to super dads who tote along tools in their diaper bags, just in case they need to fix something on the playground, the Chicago Dads Group was a great time and made me feel at easy in my DAD skin.
We traded stories, told jokes, talked about our kids and had a great time. The Chicago Dads Group is free to join and has another meet up this Sunday at the Andersonville Made Fest at 1:00PM.
If you are a DAD, or know a DAD or are married to a DAD, check out the Chicago DADs Group click here for more information.
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