Beautiful, Hilarious Photos Of Bored Dads At One Direction Concerts

A mere two years into my own parenting life, I can already attest to the weird truth that a big part of raising another human is lying to their beautiful, dumb, little faces about being interested in some shit they are interested in. Right now, I frequently pretend that I'm utterly riveted as my 2-year-old son tells me 14 times in a row that the truck is yellow when, in truth, I don't care what color it is so much as I care that it's blocking the goddamn crosswalk.

But that's what you do for your kids. You find ways to exist in their world so that you can make them feel related to, understood, and protected as you simultaneously find ways to guide them to increasingly more grown-up levels. And you just accept that everyone is going to feel a little uncomfortable about the awkwardness of this process, at least until your kids are fully grown adults, at which point you can breathe a sigh of relief and finally get drunk together the way god intended.

That said, today I am forced to check my #toddlerprivilege out of respect for the parents who are living the true struggle: attending a One Direction concert with their tween daughters. Let us all take a moment of silence for the dads (and, although not featured in these photos, undoubtedly moms too) who are toiling deep in the hellish, hormone-fueled years between trucks and cocktails.

Images: Angelina Castillo / Nashville Scene (5)