Dad Matters Flies the Frantic Skies

Jim Daly Jim Daly is president and chief executive officer of Focus on the Family, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families thrive.
Updated Aug 08, 2013

Focus on the Family’s blog for fathers, Dad Matters, has a great mix of content written by some of the dads on our staff. Some of the posts, like this one on staying involved during the school year, are full of practical insight. Others, like this post on presuming the best, offer life wisdom with real-life examples.

Then there’s Patrick, who specializes in writing humorous pieces inspired by his daily adventures in fatherhood. His latest post, “Flying the Frantic Skies,” is sure to make you laugh:

Notice anything about those airline ads on TV? You know, the ones where peaceful, relaxed passengers bathed in golden sunlight close their eyes and blissfully smile? THERE ARE NO FAMILIES WITH CHIDLREN ON THOSE PLANES.

Forget mud runs, going four-wheelin’ or a day at the machine gun range. Nothing tests your grit as a man like flying with small children.

In reality, lots of families fly. You’ll find them crammed in the back of the plane amidst piles of diaper bags, backpacks emblazoned with cartoon characters, extra carry-ons and hand sanitizer. Forget pushing your seat back and nodding off. Typically, the flight is as peaceful as an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese.

But—this is an opportunity!

My wife and I recently boarded a plane with our four year and 11 month old sons. Before our bottoms actually touched down, the seat pockets were packed with milk bottles, baby wipes, disfigured peanut butter sandwiches and toys. It was time to “Man Up.”

Read the rest of Patrick’s piece over at Dad Matters. You can follow them on Twitter at @DadMattersBlog or on Facebook.