So Simple A Child Could Figure It Out
There is a girl in this house that loves that song. It is one of hundreds that she likes to dance to or sing along with. If you spend any time here you have read some of the posts I have written about her.
They have ranged from conversations about whether she could be on Facebook to tales of Daddy/Daughter day. She is daddy’s girl and I am completely in love.
It is hard not to be. I remember when she asked why is daddy crying and how concerned she was about me. She is almost 8 going on 30.
Really my children have been a big part of making sure that I stay grounded. Any time some challenge in my life has come up I have always thought about them and how my decisions would impact their lives.
I Wasn’t Always A Father
It sounds like a silly thing to say because I obviously haven’t always been a father but I have been doing it for so long now it feels like I never was anything else. That is ok with me, I am good with it.
But sometimes I look around and wonder how it is that time passes so quickly. It sounds ridiculous to say that, but it is something that every parent thinks about. You want and wish for a way to stop time for a little while so that these little people stay little for a while longer.
That is not something that you see in The Dudes Group, at least not from what I can tell. I am ok with that too. Have to admit that it is a bit surreal to look at the pictures and the trailer for that flick and realize that I haven’t had kids in diapers in years. Nor have I had a toddler either.
Now I have big kids who ask me what a daddy blogger is and want to know if I write about other things.
The Answer
The answer makes their eyes go a bit glassy. I tell them that I write about many things and that I am working on some ebooks and a “real” book. They ask me to tell them what social media is and I say it is about making friends and doing business. They want to know if that means that I do business with friends and I say sometimes.
I look at their faces and I see that they are ready to talk about something else and that is ok too. I want to know about homework and school, but before I do my daughter tells me that I need to focus on my homework too. She thinks I need to come up a with a different name than daddy blogger because she is concerend someone will call me a booger.
It is kind of silly. I remind her that it is more important to be aware of what names we call ourselves but at the same time I think about what she says. What kind of impression am I making? Is this going to lead to more work or is it going to be seen in ways that don’t lead to additional opportunities.
It is another moment where I think about what kind of blogger am I and what kind of blogger do I want to be.
Jens P. Berget May 3, 2012 at 10:20 pm
I’ve been thinking about the impression I’m making as well. And it’s a bit related to my education. I have a masters degree in political science, and my parents had a hard time to understand what that was. Then, I started working, and my parents couldn’t understand what I did at work. They wanted to be able to explain to their friends exactly what I did, by using a few words.
Now, I’ve hard time explaining to my kids what I do. Earlier, they understood where I worked, and that was enough. Now they’ve no idea.
On the other hand, it might make us more interesting… (the mystic triggers fascination)
Jack May 3, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Hi Jens,
I have had some jobs that couldn’t be easily described and or explained. Some terms aren’t real specific. I like the idea of being mysterious. There is something cool about that.
JanB May 3, 2012 at 11:36 am
Kids are pretty awesome, huh? I am a father of three boys that ‘ventured out’. But the bond is there. Like getting some sort of assurance from our kids that you’re doing ‘the right thing’ whatever that may be.
Kids are pretty flexible and are able to distinguish their parent(s) needs and passion and adjust to that.
It works both ways. kids expect their parent{s} to do the same…
Jack May 3, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Hi Jan,
How old are your boys? That assurance is is nice to get. When you work hard for them you want to see that good things come from it. Not that we wouldn’t but…
Bill Dorman May 3, 2012 at 7:11 am
The daddy booger, has a nice ring to it………..
My boys are men now so I know how quick it goes. What is kind of neat right now is two of the kids they played little league ball with are starting pitcher’s in the bigs; Chris Sale for the Chisox and Drew Hutchinson for Toronto. It’s fun to reminisce the little league days; I have stories on end about some of those escapades.
Just keep on enjoying them and watching them grow into ‘real’ people; it’s pretty cool.
Jack May 3, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Hi Bill,
That is very cool. I imagine your boys think it is pretty cool to be able to say that some of the guys they played with made it to the show. That is a dream.
I love watching mine grow, even when they are making me crazy. 😉
Betsy Cross May 3, 2012 at 1:36 am
Just be you Jack! Seems you do a really good job following your gut. “Blogger” gets my kids giggling, too…
Jack May 3, 2012 at 11:19 pm
Hi Betsy,
I am good at following my gut. Now if only it didn’t complicate so many things. 😉
Stan Faryna May 3, 2012 at 1:07 am
“It is another moment where I think about what kind of blooger am I and what kind of blooger do I want to be.”
I swear that’s what it looked like you wrote. Then I took a second look and it was fine. [grin]
Jack May 3, 2012 at 11:18 pm
I kind of like the idea of being a blooger- road not taken.