In Praise of Jim Gaffigan

Posted April 13, 2015 by Prairie Wife - 2 comments

One of my favorite parts of having a blog is sharing things I love with my readers, and I just had to write this post in praise of Jim Gaffigan! As a happily married Prairie Wife I can’t say I literally LOVE him, but his stand up comedy is some of the funniest I’ve ever heard.

As I was on Facebook a few weeks ago I came across this video clip of Jim Gaffigan, take a minute to watch it…

Hilarious right?! It especially struck a chord as we had just taken four of our kids to Disney while I was 7 months pregnant. I had first heard his stand up comedy a few years ago while on a 20 hour road trip with The Cowboy and four of the Cowkids. He quite possibly saved our marriage… Watching this video clip led me to do a little internet stalking and I was excited to see that Jim Gaffigan is still going strong. I was thrilled to see that he is still touring, but while he will be in Colorado this summer (Broomfield, CO July 29), The Cowboy and I will be unable to go. LittleMissH will still be using me as her main food source and I find that taking a baby on a date like that is more trouble than it’s worth. Thankfully I learned that he had written a book recently (almost a year ago actually) called Dad Is Fat. Who wouldn’t love a title like that?!

As I read the book I found myself laughing out loud and mentally making a note to share certain chapters with The Cowboy when he came back into town that weekend. As I read more, I found that I had a ton more in common with the Gaffigan family than I originally thought! Five kids super close together in age…check! Catholic…check! Making it through each day with a certain dark humor about parenting and children…check! I actually think that his wife Jeannie might be my new role model. After all, at the time the book was written she was raising five kids in a two bedroom apartment…in NYC! I have a five bedroom house with a barn on 10 acres and I find it hard to keep my sanity!

Dad Is Fat is written as a series of Essays, with great titles like “Drinking the Kool-Aid” “Oh My God, You’re Pregnant” and “No Such thing as a Free Babysitter” what’s not to love? There wasn’t a time while I read this book where I didn’t have a smile on my face. Jim Gaffigan is so honestly blunt at sharing those inner parent thoughts that you can’t help but feel relived…I’m not the only one that feels like a vacation with my small children is exhausting and the opposite of fun! I just have to share a few of my favorite quotes and then I’ll leave you to go and purchase the book…

“Bedtime gives the impression that your children will be in bed, going to sleep at a specific time. Any parent of a five-year-old will tell you this is not a plausible reality.”

“During labor the father-to-be is always attempting to justify his presence in the room: “Hey I’m the dad. I’m on the team. I caused this. Well, I’m in the way so I will just stand here in the corner and take some pictures.””

“Recently my eight-year-old Marie, asked, “What happened to my Valentine’s Day candy?” Like a good parent, I lied: “I don’t know.””

One last plug for Jim Gaffigan (no he is not paying me but if he or Jeannie read this I’d love to interview you) and then I promise I’m done! This summer The Jim Gaffigan Show will be airing on TV Land…finally a show that The Cowboy and I can both enjoy. Make sure you keep your eyes open for it!

PS. Make a mental note now to pick up Dad is Fat for a Father’s Day gift for that special Dad in your life!

Categories: Reviews

Tags: , Book Review, comedy, Dad Is Fat, Jim Gaffigan, Jim Gaffigan Show, parenting humor, video clips