Fatherhood, Craziness and Loving it All.

One morning I was taking care of business, when my five year old daughter started banging on the bathroom door and asked me, "Daddy, is it a pee or a poo?" while my almost two year old son just kept yelling, "Daaad-ee, Daaad-ee" in the background.

Now how this information is in any way useful to my daughter, I'm not sure. However I couldn't dedicate too much brain power to figure that out as my imagination quickly went through all of the possible scenarios on why my son wants my attention. One of them involved an acetylene torch that he somehow or rather managed to grab from the garage, the other is a shattered iPad that he is trying to eat.

Then it hit me.

Life didn't always used to be this way. 

Before I was a dad and when I was single, I was never asked which bodily function I was performing while in the act. I walked around in my boxers most of the weekend. I could go and have a beer with friends at 11a and watch football the entire afternoon. I could read a whole book in one sitting. I could spend a stupid amount of money on stupid things. Nobody cared.

What happened to that life?

I mentioned this to another dad and my cousin, Eric at a barbecue recently and we both "went there." Thinking about the wild parties, the freedom and how we both had a completely different set of priorities. After a collection of sighs and slugs of beer we both laughed it off and basically ended the conversation the way any of these conversations end...with a series of "those were the days" cliches followed by a discussion on his new sweet ass grill.

As I was pushing my kids on a swing in the yard later that afternoon, (with a good single malt within reach) I thought to myself "you're a dumb ass dude." This is ten times better than when you were single. You are raising little humans who love you and equate you to a super hero. People who are some day going to run or ruin the world and its your call which one. And then self realization hit... number two, the reason no one cared what I did when I was single was just that... no one cared.

I'm now surrounded by a wife and kids and family that care about everything I do. From what I want for breakfast to why I'm oiling the garage door and of course which number it is while I'm in the loo. Everything I do matters to these people now. It's an unreal amount of pressure at times, but like all good dads I'm learning to take it a day at a time. That drinking is okay. And to always, always keep it real.

Thus the birth of this blog. To identify with other dads out there in a judgement free way, who are doing the best they can being really damn good dads. It ain't always pretty. Sometimes it's hilarious, tragic and most of the times messy, but we'll do our best to keep it real for everyone as we experience this thing called fatherhood together.

If you don't like it, that's okay too, this is probably for our own therapy more than anything.

- B