Talk to any parent of school-aged children, and we all have one thing in common: mornings are hectic. Chaotic. Frenzied. A whirlwind of wild activity that is stressful and anxiety-inducing, no matter how much prep you do in advance. Dropping them off at school is a relief! Andy Cohen captured this feeling perfectly with his new before-and-after photos of school dropoff with his two kids, and it’s so relatable.
The Bravo TV host, who is dad to Ben, 5, and Lucy, 2, shared a selfie on his Instagram story this morning captioned “before dropoff…” The photo was taken on a New York City street, set to the Imperial March song from Star Wars. His head is tilted to the side, eyes scrunched up in despair with a frown on his face. He looks utterly exhausted. What is it about two tiny children that can completely wear you out before 8 a.m.?
Next, Cohen took a photo after the kids got to school, and the difference is night-and-day. This one is set to “A Brand New Day” by Diana Ross. Cohen’s whole face is lit up with a wide-mouthed smile as he holds a bright yellow coffee mug up to the camera. The kids are at school, the whole day is yours for the taking (even if, sure, you’re just going to work). You aren’t a bad parent if you admit there’s a slight pep in your step on the way home from dropoff because it happens to all of us!
Earlier this week, the Watch What Happens Live star opened up about being a single parent on David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast. He said that fatherhood transformed him into “a whole world of worry” that he never had before.
“I told you earlier that I wasn’t someone that had a lot of self-doubt,” he said in the interview. “But, I mean, this will do it to you — being a parent. You start to question everything, especially as a single parent.”
He admitted that worries “keep him up at night.” “Everything from ‘What kind of world am I bringing my child into’ to ‘what’s gonna happen to us?’” he explained. “‘What happens if something happens to me?’ ‘Are they gonna be okay?’”
My mom always told me if you’re worried about being a good parent, that’s the first sign that you are a good parent. You can worry, make mistakes, even celebrate dropping them off at school, and still love your kids. And Cohen’s honesty about all of that makes us all feel seen.
