Community Corner

What it Means To Be A Dad

The Mom Squad's other half reveals their thoughts on Fatherhood.

Written by the MomSquad

We at the Mom Squad always talk about how wonderful, hard, and crazy it is being a Mom, but we never get to hear much from the Dads' point of view.

This week the Mom Squad hubbies share their feelings on parenthood and how they feel about being Fathers to our crazy bunch of kids!

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Mike (Bethany’s hubby):

Nothing can compare to the incredible feeling you have when you enter the hospital as a couple, and come out as a family. It feels so amazing to add a new person to the world and to be entrusted with this little life. With our new baby in the backseat, I even found myself driving much more carefully than I ever had before.

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We decided very early on that my wife would stay at home with the children, so this meant that they were all now counting on me to provide for our family. I feel privileged having a family who depends on me and it makes me feel proud to take care of my family. Each day I look forward to the moment when I walk in the door and hear my little girl say, “Yay! Papa’s home!”

As a Father I enjoy watching my children experience new things everyday as they grow and develop. I feel joy teaching them new skills and I strive to be someone they look up to for guidance, love, and support. It’s so cool being able to relive the experience of childhood through them. I see my sense of humor in them and we all love being silly and laughing together. I feel such joy anticipating all of the good things the future holds as well as the challenges ahead. I realize this is a lifelong commitment, and I cherish all the rewards of Fatherhood.

Matt (Nicole’s hubby):

It feels like just yesterday I was being hurried to get up and get ready for school. The daily grind of oozing out of bed, slow as molasses being shouted at that I'm going to be late. Breakfast is a blur, lunches being made for me just before being pushed out the door on the way to school.

Now, I get my daily wake up call by one or both of our kids, singing, chatting, bouncing- all FAR FAR FAR too early for my liking. After some gentle (or not so gentle) prodding either by my wife, or one of my kids, I'm up and getting the day started.

In a few months, I will have come full circle, being the groggy, semi-efficient lunch maker, and kid herder, as our oldest Evie starts pre-school this fall. Sound unpleasant? Sound familiar? Honestly, I couldn't be more excited. Seeing my kids grow like weeds is an unbelievable thing. Every day I'm shocked by the cleverness, the new things they learn, especially the unexpected.

The unexpected is what really delights me, as that usually means they've picked up something all on their own. School marks the occasion where we as the parents give up a big chunk of the daily control over their lives and (hopefully) see them grow even quicker. It's bittersweet, but honestly, it's an amazing thing to see.

I love comparing notes with my wife at the end of the day, seeing the little bits of our personalities coming out in the both of them. Not only that, but bits and pieces of both of our families. It really is a cool thing to say that I see huge bits of me and my sister in Evie, but also to hear that she shares so much of my wife's temperament when she was little. Or how my son looks like the spitting image of both my father and my wife's father. Every day we experience this in bits and pieces, and it is really makes being a father such a great thing.

On top of that, it's getting a taste of everything my own parents went through, raising me and my sister. That only causes me to respect them even more, knowing how many highs and lows they must have experienced over the years, and makes me hope that fatherhood is something I can handle with even half the successes that my parents achieved.

The Mom Squad would like to wish all the Dads a very Happy Father’s Day!

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