How do we cope? Each of us has our own way. Feis moms talk about the dancing, the music, the dresses, the wigs, the makeup, the socks, the shoes, the shoelaces, the type of leather making up the shoes, typical wear patterns of shoes, and well, you get the picture. For many feis moms, these are truly social events. And by social event, I mean talking. A lot of talking.
What about feis dads? We don’t have the same defense mechanisms as our better halves. We don’t do much talking. Some of us do a lot of sitting, staring straight ahead with a deer in the headlights look. Others bring a book. Or borrow our children’s Nintendo DS. Still others look for a different means of escape.
Here’s an untouched picture from a typical performance.
See the beautiful dancers in their performance dresses? Notice anything else about the picture? Look way off to the left. Still don’t see it?
I’ll give you a hint: see the red circle.
Now, what’s so special about this guy? Nothing. He’s just a typical feis dad. Enjoying his daughter’s performance. A feis dad poster boy.
But let’s not dismiss him so quickly. We need to take a closer look at this feis dad champion.
- He’s dressed for the occasion in shorts, plaid shirt, white socks and work boots. Not only is this high-fashion, but comfort is paramount for feis dads
- The flash of the camera seems to have caught him by surprise as he tries to go unnoticed, sort of like the famous picture of Bigfoot in the woods. As you can also see, I think our feis dad is beginning to look a lot like Bigfoot!
- Also, notice this wild feis dad has a smile on his face.
I bet you were thinking all feis dads wear frowns at feisana. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We smile a lot. When our children dance. When they actually place in one of those dances. When it’s time for lunch. During the first feis dances. When we beat our son’s high score on Grand Theft Auto on his PSP. When it’s time to leave for the day. And when the bar opens.
Which brings me to the last interesting item in this picture. If you haven’t seen it already, you’ll notice something else interesting about our heroic feis dad. Hint: see the other red circle. Come on, get your glasses out already!
By that sly grin on his face, I don’t believe that’s lemonade in his glass. So here’s to you, feis dad superstar, defender of our jaded ideals, I take my hat off and raise my own barley pop in salute. You are a true feis dad!
