The opposite of getting your car fixed.

I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t know a lot about cars. I know when to change the oil, get the tires rotated, and fill it with gas but that’s about it. Whenever there’s a real problem with the car, I usually feel awkward about bringing it in to the service guys because I always feel like I should know more about the car than I do, just because I’m a guy. Lots of times I’ll have my wife bring the car in, as the service guys are usually much nicer to her (and she has no such hang-up). These past few days I’ve started to get the feeling that the opposite is happening in my new dad-life. The other day I’m at Babies R Us, wheeling the baby around looking for a few things, and while shopping I had no less than 3 store clerks ask if they could help me. And even yesterday at Costco, I had another customer offer to help me put my items on the conveyor belt because it looked like I had “my hands full.”

Now I’m sure lots of other dads might be offended, because we are just as able to deal with our children alone as any mom would be, and this is true. But maybe this is a perk that I didn’t count on. I may be way more capable of taking care of my kid than you assume I am, but if you’re going to help me find the hooded bath towels quicker, then thank you very much.