For years I hated deadbeat fathers. We're groomed to. Remember that asshole from Angels In The Outfield who still didn't come back to Joseph Gordon-Levitt after the Angels won the Pennant? I vowed never to become that man. But, as I come into my child wielding years, I wonder how hard it would be to keep that promise.
I don't have any statistics on this, but I imagine most absent dads are pretty young. Picture having a one night stand in your mid twenties and then boom you have a screaming child. I'm all for her choice, but he's got options too. Are most deadbeat fathers just guys who decided to live out their twenties instead? Poopy diapers vs a twenty-something year old's nightlife isn't much of a fair fight. I'm not saying I agree, but I can see the reasoning.
It occurred to me the other night that I wouldn't stay with any girl I've had sex with. Not a single one. It's not a long list, but not a promising one either. I'm not saying I'd be absent if she followed through, but get down on one knee? No way. I don't like myself very much, and I tend to sleep with people who share that opinion. So what am I supposed to do? The right thing? Force a proposal and subject the both of us to a lifetime of hating each other? That's the right thing? That isn't fair to anyone, most of all the child. Then again, Angels In The Outfield...
The women I've been with clearly aren't the best decision makers. They probably shouldn't be trusted with a child and neither should I. What would I do if we drew the dreaded double red line? If push came to shove, I'd probably pop the question because I don't have a backbone. I'd put my life of picking up babes on my motorcycle behind me and yield to the ideals of public opinion. Now the balls in her court, I did the right thing. Best case scenario she says no and I get every other weekend.
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