*Unofficial* Dad of the Year nominee 10 years in a row!

 

Since the first one was under my wing, I have dedicated myself to putting my kids first and foremost in everything I do. You know that saying, "You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent"? I really admire that slogan because I am not perfect, but that never stopped me in trying my best to be a perfect father in the eyes of my kids. In my opinion, that meant always being attentive to my kid's mental growth and empathetic to their emotional being. It meant investing time into conversations and discussions. And overall, it means taking responsibility for their actions by taking responsibility for my actions. After all, kid's are usually influenced by their primary caregivers. Putting this much effort into my kids has lead me to a lot of pride as well as lot of heartbreak, and as I continue to Parent, I would like to share the stories with other parents, especially young dads. This is not a paying gig for me, it's just a creative outlet directed in a positive role. 

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"Did you just say something about my Mom?"

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I'd have to say that my primary parenting influence was my mom. And I know most of you women are having a sentimental reaction to that such as, "awww, how sweet!" Well, it wasn't all that sweet! So, whatever. You can read more about that in my "Gettin' your spank on" article. And I don't feel like crying right now so lemme just move on. No, but really, She was my main parenting reference and through our continued, growing relationship, we now have mutual respect and admiration of our parenting styles. But along with Her and my Dad, I was (semi) raised by another 9 aunts and uncles, 2 grandmas, and 2 granddads. So I saw a lot of parenting going on whether it was directly at me or indirectly (watching some of my cousins). And so I believe that Me being a dedicated and involved Dad has a lot to do with my genes and my upbringing. And my mom has a big part in that because she put me in those environments where I was able to observe parenting attributes of others. And over the years it has taken me some "hits and misses" to develop my own parenting style and to realize what works and what doesn't (no matter how loud I yell). The development of the parent is one topic I enjoy. 

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"Write, write, write, write, write"

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As I mentioned, I am just a regular guy who likes to write. I read the same information that you do on the internet, I just prefer to focus on providing useful information to the parents and they can benefit from it or they can discard it. It's no one professional expertise and it's basically an overheard conversation in your local donut shop. I like to write and I like to parent and that's what this website is fueled by. A good friend once described me as "working hard at working hard" LOL! That was great and spot on. In regards to writing, I've just been writing for a long time, is all. And when I find time to write, or if I just jot something down, it's me secretly working towards one day getting paid for writing. (sshhh. It's a secret. stop talking). For a long time, I've received great feedback on my writing for it's flow, and storytelling, not so much for the robust and emblematic language. And the more I see people gaining a career from it, the more I determine that there is an audience for almost anyone in the world, and so, still I write...

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