The ability to brush long hair without full-blown tantrums and tears. I have three daughters, they all have a LOT of hair, and try as I might I just cannot nail the delicate balance between rough enough to get through the knots but careful enough to not have to deal with the howls of discontent.
Also their ability to tie some sort of braid that lasts three days so that if mum is gone for the weekend, dad can avoid the howls.
Their steadfast dedication to organisation. My own mother once said to me "Clean your oven every school holidays, that's about the right amount of time to not let it get filthy, and the job will be much easier at regular intervals."
Great advice. Advice I have not adhered to this year and now I find myself with three times the effort required, to return said oven to pristine.
At home I find myself checking still the family calendar so dutifully filled in by the mother of our children, despite the fact that we are now four months into the kids' after school activities. Does ballet start at 6.15 or 5? Only the calendar, and my wife, know the answers off the top of their heads.
And let's not forget the kind words of encouragement to help our day-to-day lives, things like "You're not actually going to wear that to the supermarket are you?" and "Did you actually let our daughter go to the supermarket like that?" And who could forget that classic piece of encouragement "I threw those in the bin because you wore them to the supermarket".
Ah yes, to the mums in our lives I say a huge thank you, for all that you do, and to the mums in mine? Hope you enjoy the fish! _ Adam Green
