So last night I noticed that I’ve lined up these guest bloggers so that I don’t have to blog, but I’ve had things happen that have caused me to blog as often as I always have, only now I’m also throwing in the guest posts, too. I kind of love this, though. I have the guest posters in the event that I have nothing to say or no time to write and if I DO have time to write, y’all get a double dose of me and my friends. (I might be a smidge narcissistic. Maybe. To think that you WANT a double dose of me.)
Anyway. Enough about that random realization.
Ladies, today we should maybe put on our bras and wipe up the mascara and eyeliner that smudged its way down our faces in our sleep.
(What, you mean, you wash your face before you go to sleep? I think you are excommunicated from the Not Super Mom club if you manage to wash your face every night. And if your boobs are non-saggy ON THEIR OWN? You are most certainly banished. We’ll let you back in with chocolate. Or when you get gray hairs before we do.)
Why all the fuss, you ask? Because today’s blogger?
TODAY’S GUEST BLOGGER IS A DAD.
::shock!:: ::horror!:: THERE’S A MAN ON THE BLOG.
Today’s guest poster is The DaddyYo Dude, John, from The DaddyYo Blog.
John is a father of two, Caleb and Marlee, and married to his wife of 4 years, April. You can read more about him and why he blogs here.
We “met” on Twitter when he and a group of other dads were invited to participate in a weekly #PPDChat to give a man’s perspective on the ways PPD and PPA affect families. Their advice and input was greatly appreciated that night. You can follow John at @TheDaddyYoDude (and you should, because, I mean, why not!?)
John’s guest post reminds me of the early days of Joshua’s life when we all had our very own superhero names–Milk Lady, Diaper Man, and Captain Crankypants. (I’ll let you guess who was whom! Mine is pretty clear. The other two are debatable depending on what time of day it is.)
So, give John a round of applause, y’all!
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It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s … Just Daddy
The man with the strength to carry two children on one arm, the stamina to withstand even the longest game of bubbles and balls, the ability to leap over the tricycle in a single bound! It’s … IT’S … IT’S … no wait, it’s just Daddy.
Sometimes I like to imagine what my kids think of me from a comic book standpoint. It’s fun and I recommend everyone try it sometime. For some reason though, I always stop short at saying “It’s SUPER-DAD!!!”. I think it is some kind of instinct for a dad to want to be viewed as a super hero, or just a hero in general, to his children. It is nice to think that perhaps someday, my children will view me with such prestige. But something has been stirring inside my brain and my heart the last few days, and I now know why it is I stop short of calling myself “Super-Dad”. You see, my children need me to be a dad. Super hero is nice, but there are plenty of comic books and TV shows that exist for choosing a super hero to be in awe of. No, my children need me to just be “daddy”.
In the short amount of time that I have been in the blogging world, I have used that time wisely and really gained a wealth of knowledge from the parenting blog community. Most importantly, as I have been writing about my own experiences, I have also learned a lot about myself, and my role as a dad. I can admit that I have not always been as involved as a dad. Through the community of moms and dads online, and the ability to read back through my archives, I have been able to see where I was, where I am, and get a feel for where I am going.
My children don’t need a father, gene donor, or a super hero from me; they need their daddy. Whether it is changing a diaper, kissing a boo boo, or getting on all fours and becoming a horsey (and no doubt securing back problems for later on in life). Sure, I can carry both of them on one arm, jump the mountains of toys to get around quickly, and withstand long periods of playtime, but that is what a dad is supposed to do. That’s not a super hero. That is being the dad I have been called to be.
Super heroes abound in all shapes, sizes, 3D and 2D models. They are larger than life, and stronger than the average man. While it would be super rad to possess such skills and super powers, I think I will leave that to Marvel and DC. When my kids are grown, have kids of their own, and I am no longer here, I would much rather know that they speak of me as a great dad, and that I did my best, and that was the impression that I left them. Let them speak of super heroes when talking about cartoons they watched when they were little. Let them speak of dear old dad, as just that–their daddy. I’m no super hero, I will never be a super hero, but I will always be “daddy”.
The DaddyYo Dude
Psst: Y’all, GO HERE and enter the Lily and Bird Baking giveaway.
