07-15-2008, 08:48 PM | #1 |
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Why is it sometimes ok for dads to be gone so much?
I have mentioned I'm a primary teacher--kids turning 8. Last week, our lesson was about gratitude, and we were going around to the kids asking them to think of things they are grateful for.
Bishop's son (child #3 of 4 in the family) spontaneously said he's grateful his dad works so hard for their family that he has to be gone from early in the morning until late at night every day. Bishop has a very demanding government job and reportedly works 15-hour days 6 days a week, in addition to fulfilling his Bishop responsibilities. He's clearly almost never home with his children during waking hours. So what was interesting to me was the fact that his son must apparently be being taught that what his dad is doing is noble and important or some such. I don't understand this at all. Does it seem like we bend over backwards to support fathers doing all they can outside the home? Why do we not do all we can to support cooperative parenting instead of this kind of division? |
07-15-2008, 08:51 PM | #2 | |
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Also, your bishop could earn the same amount of money doing something else, but his government job must give him great satisfaction for him to stay there.
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"Now I say that I know the meaning of my life: 'To live for God, for my soul.' And this meaning, in spite of its clearness, is mysterious and marvelous. Such is the meaning of all existence." Levin, Anna Karenina, Part 8, Chapter 12 |
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07-15-2008, 08:51 PM | #3 |
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Have you read "Proclamation on the Family"?
It's ingrained in the culture. People who are underemployed are sneered at, while those who work incredible hours are lionized. |
07-15-2008, 08:52 PM | #4 | |
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It's b/c we value financial security so much.
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"Now I say that I know the meaning of my life: 'To live for God, for my soul.' And this meaning, in spite of its clearness, is mysterious and marvelous. Such is the meaning of all existence." Levin, Anna Karenina, Part 8, Chapter 12 |
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07-15-2008, 08:54 PM | #5 | |
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In my household my father was still very much a parent and went to great lengths to be there for us even when his work and calling required much of him. Maybe I was just fortunate.
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07-15-2008, 08:54 PM | #6 | |
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It's just sad. I have read the Proclamation. It does not hang in my home. |
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07-15-2008, 08:56 PM | #7 | |
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Ernie Johnson: "Auburn is a pretty good school. To graduate from there I suppose you really need to work hard and put forth maximum effort." Charles Barkley: "20 pts and 10 rebounds will get you through also!" |
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07-15-2008, 08:57 PM | #8 |
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Personally, maybe people should just say no to callings.
I know of cases where people were passed over for callings because they were perceived as not having any time. When I was called to be scoutmaster, I was a resident physican, with a demanding moonlighting schedule, working on a master's degree, with a small child at home and one on the way. Maybe I should have said no. I certainly didn't spend a lot of time with my family at that point. |
07-15-2008, 08:58 PM | #9 | |
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07-15-2008, 08:58 PM | #10 | |
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Cooperative parenting is where both parents care for and nurture their children. This concept is NOT embraced by the LDS culture at large and only slightly poked at by the larger society. |
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