Good Cop/Bad Cop

Jessie’s friend and her two year old daughter came over Sunday afternoon to hang out. I had been out earlier, and when I came home, her daughter, who was sitting with them at the table, comes rushing over to play with me. I’ve never really seen this kid before, but I’m liking her already. She’s got good taste in play pals.

My wife seems a bit envious because apparently, her friend’s daughter had no interest in playing with her earlier. I don’t blame the kid. Jessie’s idea of fun is giving a lecture every time I do something to her disliking.

If there was any doubt of me being a good father, the evidence is right there in front of the wife’s eyes. I might not be great at holding my own during an adult-related conversation, but I’ll run circles around her any day of the week when it comes to playing with kids. This is a great example of how a weakness (my immaturity) can be turned into a strength.

I’ve often joked around with Jessie that our kid will like me better than her. She says that it’s not a competition. Ok, fine, it’s not a competition, but our kid will still like me better than you. That's just something that can't be helped. You wouldn't want me to be a bad parent on purpose just so our kid likes you more, would you? There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to bring out the best in every parent. Equality is overrated.

She’s worried things will turn out like good cop/bad cop, where I’m obviously the cool parent and she’s the one that nags at and disciplines our child. No worries. I’m prepared to play bad cop/bad cop, just like Will Ferrell in the movie, The Other Guys. We’ll have our kids so confused they won’t know what hit them. Pow!