The Meaning Of Being A Dad

Aug 22, 2018

3 min read

I never grew up with a strong conviction that I was going to be anything when I got older.

When I was eight, I was sure I was going to be a baseball player. I was a pitcher and I had a mean slider that no batter my age could touch. I couldn’t hit to save my life, but I wouldn’t ever need to because my pitching was that good – is what I said to myself.

When I was 10, I was the captain of my hockey team and convinced that one day I’d be a hockey player. I’m pretty sure all of my teammates just voted me captain because of my sweet, bright yellow boom box I would bring to every game, where I would pump either Dance Mix ’93 or Aerosmith Get a Grip.

When I was 12, I was ready to be an astronaut. I’d read all about the Apollo missions and was pumped about the idea of floating in space. These dreams were quickly dashed when I discovered being diabetic excluded me from being an astronaut.

When I was 15, I was sure I’d be a rockstar. I’d play music in a number of bands until I was in my thirties, but rock-stardom never came.

When I was 20, I was terrified that I had no idea what to do.

Eventually I went to school and became a journalist. I love writing. You can take your time and craft exactly what you want to say. As a person that has a tendency to get emotional when he talks, writing gives me the ability to calmly think out what I want to say, the exact words I want to use and how I want to say it.

It’s why I write this blog. I like writing and I love being a dad.

To say I knew that I would be a stay-at-home dad is wrong and to say I knew I would love being a stay-at-home dad is wrong.

I always knew I wanted kids, but I think I lived in a fear that I wouldn’t love it. That I would be the dad that wanted to be at work more than he wanted to be at home. That I would live for the times when they were asleep. Luckily, I love being a dad more than I have loved anything in my life.

The Meaning Of Being A Dad

I’ve given a lot of thought to the meaning of being a dad and not just since I became one. Rightly or wrongly, I often critiqued my own dad in my head as I was growing up. Things I loved and things I would “NEVER” do with my kids (the list of things I would never do has changed and grown in perspective since I’ve become a dad and I’m sure will continue to evolve).

I recently connected with fellow dad and dad blogger, Eric Novak. Eric runs the popular blog Enviro Dad, is an award winning writer, video producer, automotive journalist, and professor at Seneca College in Toronto where he teaches in the Green Business Management program. Eric has extensive experience in television as creator of the Novak report for CHEX TV as well as the host and co-producer of the television series Great Professional Stories. His voice can also be heard around Toronto and Ontario on a number of radio commercials and corporate audio work.

On top of ALL of that, Eric is also the father of four kids.

Eric put together a YouTube video about the meaning of being a dad and I think it perfectly sums up a lot of the feelings dad’s go through as they transition into the life of being a father.

Be sure to subscribe to his channel for Eric’s expert reviews on eco-friendly vehicles.