Yeah, some men are clearly full of crap when they step down from a prominent position to “spend more time with my family,” as cited in this Washington Post article. But I think they’re comfortable offering that as an excuse, in part because it has been more acceptable for men to cut back on job and career demands when they start to realize they’re missing out on the good stuff in their roles as dads and husbands.
It’s cool to be into fatherhood these days, to say, “Naw, I can’t, I promised my kids…. “ And while it may not be as cool to be happily married, I never catch hell from anyone when I say “Hey, I can’t, I gotta date with my sweetie.” And a fair amount of the time, I get a “Hey, you’re a lucky guy” type comment, followed by a “I gotta do more of that with my wife.”