This is Daily Dadspeak—daily reflections on becoming a dad, while still growing up myself. You can find the full mini-pod audio list here.
This morning I watched a few male and female cardinals flirting around a bird feeder.
Beautiful red males using their bright color to woo the also beautiful, but less striking, females.
It reminded me of a joke from the book, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar… Here it is:
“Dr. Janet,” the embarrassed woman says, “I have a sexual problem. I don’t get aroused by my husband.”
Dr. Janet says, “Okay, I’ll do a thorough exam tomorrow. Bring your husband in with you.”
The next day the woman returns with her husband.
“Take off your clothes, Mr. Thomas,” says the doctor. “Now turn all the way around. Okay, now lie down, please. Uh-huh, I see. Okay, you may put your clothes back on.”
Dr. Janet takes the woman aside. “You are in perfect health,” she says. “He doesn’t turn me on either.”
I think this is a hilarious perspective flip on who’s job it is to be attractive to their partner.
Unlike those cardinals, human men so often expect women to look perfect, while they simultaneously let entropy take over their own bodies.
Guys, don’t be that husband. Especially if you’re the kind of guy who expects your partner not to age.
And wives, as we age, try to remember those other reasons you married us. Even if our feathers aren’t quite as bright red as they used to be.
Source: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar…: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, Ch. 3: Epistemology
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