Tribute to Dad

Just when I thought I was hopelessly behind on my blog posts, God dealt me a strange hand and gave me the flu/pneumonia (in July?), thus allowing me to take the rest of the week off from work and to catch up on my posts.  Don't worry, mom; I'm on the mend and I'm taking your favorite --> antibiotics (and my favorite, pain meds [just kidding, folks]).  This was the second time in 3 years where I caught the flu with secondary pneumonia, and I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.  With fevers reaching 102, constant chills, body and muscle aches, and a headache like a vice grip on your head, I was rendered useless for the past 3 days.

Enter, Super Dad!  Super Dad Jin swooped in and handled the children, made sure they were fed, washed up, and made me feel confident that I could focus on repairing my body and not worrying about the kids. Of course, there was the usual grumpy resistance towards every task (and occasional outbursts of frustration), but, hey, he got the job done quickly and reliably.  And as a bonus, I was even given a few crackers slid under the door of the room where I was quarantined (just kidding).

Which brings me to another related topic. What fathers of our time face is a quasi-state of reluctant parenting that comes from the ever-evolving role of the career woman. As we have moved more into the workforce, our counterparts have nonetheless been forced (sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not) into submission by Baby Boss and given domestic chores our father's generation never knew existed.  As Michael Lewis, author of Home Game, puts it,

"Obviously, we're in the midst of some long unhappy transition between the model of fatherhood as practiced by my father and some ideal model, approved by all, to be practiced with ease by the perfect fathers of the future."

Until we reach this utopia, I humbly pay homage and tribute to my husband, Jin, for taking on the challenges of this New Age dilemma and for paving the path towards perfection for fathers of future generations.  We appreciate everything you do and your beautiful young daughters love you for it all!

***ADDENDUM***

And in continuation of this Daddy Proud Parade, I want to look back and congratulate Jin on his accomplishment this June for graduating from Berkeley Haas School of Business!  It's been a long and sometimes frustrating road, but FINALLY, Jin received his MBA!  Yeah!  The program itself was 3 years long, but the journey to this point began way before this. All along, Jin continued working full-time and managed to also have two babies.  Here's a recap Jin's major milestone accomplishments:

• Early 2004: Jin begins taking refresher courses for prerequisite coursework. He also starts preparing for the GMAT exam
• Spring 2005: Jin takes his GMATs and begins the application process for business school
• Summer 2005: Isabella is born  
• Spring 2007: Jin is accepted to Haas
• Fall 2007: Jin begins the program
• Spring 2009: Madeleine is born
• Spring 2010: Jin Graduates!

 Here he is with Bella onstage receiving his diploma:

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A proud day for us Yun's

Congratulations, Honey!