On the surface, the story was a harmless and superficial treatment of an issue that may or may not be news, considering that women are getting laid off in the current economic climate, too.

The story also seemed a bit formulaic; how many times have we read stories about SAH dads that start with an anecdote from a random playgroup and eventually transition into another anecdote about a dad who hated the situation at first but later grew to love it? Even those among us who aren’t actually SAH dads could write this stuff in our sleep.

After listening to the NPR report, I hit the Internet to gauge reaction from some of the daddy bloggers whom I read on a regular basis. My favorite perspective came from Rebel Dad (aka Brian Reid), who lambastes NPR for what he calls a “half-hearted” report. My favorite line:

“Sure, it’s new that dads are facing this challenge, but it’s not a new challenge, the answers aren’t new.”

If you’re not familiar with Reid’s work, check it out—it deserves much more of your time than the NPR piece. And if you’ve got an opinion about that public radio story, or you’re currently a SAH dad due to cataclysmic changes in the workplace, feel free to share your insights here.

Here’s a snip from the the post (which a friend recommended):

“Any guy who can pull off the stay-at-home dad thing is HOT. I don’t care what he looks like, or how adequately or inadequately he performs his duties. There is something absolutely irresistible about a guy who is comfortable taking on this historically ‘female’ role in this day and age.”

And another:

“Being constantly subjected to ignorant people’s snap judgments of the stay-at-home dad– What, are you too lazy to get a job? You’re ok with having your WIFE support you? Do you watch football all day while the poor kids are left to their own devices? [It all] must be a HUGE FREAKING HEADACHE. And yet these guys seem so cool with it.”

(As I’ve documented on this blog, indeed, those judgments are really frieking annoying.)

Anyway, MWAD goes on to extol some of the benefits of being a stay-at-home-dad, including all of those desperate housewives fantasizing about being seduced by us. While I don’t really care about those bonuses (it’s all Powergirl, all the time for me), I do love the shout-out.

Mommy Wants a Drink, you’ve just garnered a new reader.

Perhaps this is why (at a friend’s suggestion) I read with great interest a column in today’s edition of The New York Times. The column, which appeared as a “conversation” between NYT columnists Gail Collins and David Brooks, was titled “Why Househusbands Are the Future.”

The piece wondered aloud whether, with women getting laid off at a much lower rate than men, now is the time for more men to stay home with the kids. At the very least, it was an entertaining read.

My favorite moment in the column was when Collins noted, “In the grand sweep of American lifestyle choices, stay-at-home fatherhood is possibly the only one that doesn’t get eulogized in our popular culture.”

She continued: “I want to see the Bachelorette questioning her suitors on how many years they’d be willing to set aside for full-time child-raising. I want a movie in which Matt Damon stays home while Beyonce goes out to work. He can capture an escaped terrorist during the hours when the kids are in preschool.”

I hear you, Gail. And I’m sure hundreds of other “househusbands” do, too. Whether or not these dreams become reality is a different story all together.

Twice a month, I hit the big-box store on Mondays. Twice a month, I’m one of quite literally dozens of dads in the Infant/Toddler section to stock up on supplies.

Our faces are different but our carts look the same: bulk size bags of diapers, multiple rings of Diaper Genie refills, random replacement baby clothes and wipes up the wazoo.

Occasionally, one or two of us might even tote a box of breast milk storage bags.

Whatever we’re buying, none of us dads ever goes with a spouse. Instead, the cast of peripheral characters is always different. Some of us are there with kids in tow; others are there entirely solo (as I was this afternoon).

Perhaps most curiously, we Target-shopping dads rarely if ever interact. There’s this unspoken code among dudes that prevents us from chatting when we find ourselves in potentially embarrassing situations. This code always plays itself out in public bathrooms, when we’re doing our business in front of a row of urinals. Apparently, it also rears its ugly head in the baby aisle.

Every now and again, a rebel dad or two breaks the silence. One time, a fellow dad gave me the nonchalant “What’s up” eyebrow raise. On another occasion, a dad said, flatly, “Hey.”

In both instances, I only smiled and nodded in response.

It wasn’t that I felt embarrassed, or that I wanted to be unfriendly; I was just wary to engage and therefore invade the other dads’ space. My thinking is that there are times and places for stay-at-home dad bonding. None involve the Santa Rosa Target.