Back in the saddle: I'm happy to report that snowboarding is a bit like riding a bike. Despite a two-year layoff, I was able to pick it right back up.

During my hiatus, I stumbled across a copy of AARP: The Magazine, the house organ of the AARP. One bit in particular caught my eye -- a poll of what workers over 50 most wanted and least wanted in a job. The number one and number two least-wanted items? Part-time opportunities and the ability to work from home. (Note: I couldn't find a link on their web site. You'll have to take my word for it.)

Now, the cornerstone of the Rebel Dad philosophy is not that every father should be an at-home one, but rather that every family should have a full range of choices (mom at home, dad at home, two part-time jobs, two full-time jobs with other family care, two jobs with non-family care, etc.) when it comes to caregiving structure. I focus on at-home daddying because that's the option that's missing for most families. But here at RD, we want everyone to be able to have the flexibility to choose the arrangement that best fits their economics, career goals and temperments. Rebel Mom calls this "authentic parenting" -- families should do what will genuinely make every family member happy, rather than letting society decide.

To that end, I was a bit disturbed to hear that older workers -- the ones making the decisions, most likely -- polled by the AARP ranked the most important issues to young families at the bottom of the list. No wonder corporate policies are so screwed up. The folks at the top don't need those flexible choices ... their kids are long gone. Of course, it's that next generation that's paying their Social Security bills. Can't they throw us youngsters a bone?