Hullo. Welcome to my spot, A Dad in the Raw.
A raw view from the inside out, mixing the warm with the uncomfortable of being a Dad.
A primary motivator for putting pen to paper (so to speak) is to share some 'for better, for worse' of being a Dad. My expectations of becoming a Dad and what reality provided are pretty different. I wasn't prepared for the tough stuff not included in the glossy magazines.
When they come home from the hospital with that new baby smell, there is no 6 or 12 month warranty tucked into their soon to be stinky nappy. Some new parents might get a dream run for a while but generally, get ready for being tired in a way that you've not experienced before. It's just not a good feeling to be reduced to shambles, to find your endurance, patience or judgement doesn't live up to your expectations.
When they're a bit older, instead of fun stuff, you might find you're yelling at, not reading to, your little ones. Maybe sitting at the end of their bed, watching them sleep, feeling guilty for being a cranky Dad at the end of the day and hoping you still get the thumbs up tomorrow. Kids are pretty good though; unlike adults they don't seem to hold a grudge for too long, but you can't push your luck; they have limits.
My three are still at home. I have a long way to go and so far, with my two oldest into their teens, find I'm not handling this stuff very well at all. Ah another day, another failure.
Our family life became such that I had to leave my job and be a stay at home Dad. Some speed bumps to come our way include post natal depression, full blown depression, migraine headaches, prescription drug addiction and chronic back injury. I'll also throw in a bit of variety such as constipated babies, a toddler developing a temporary stutter and remote controls copping vomit. That's why the buttons stick!
Post-Natal depression, then full depression threw our family life into turmoil. One day I had a wife and three kids (5yrs, 2yrs and 8wks). The next, 3 kids and a dependent adult. I became a single Dad even though their Mum was home.
This wasn't like the movies. This was real life and it rocked our family, our marriage, our kids and our finances. The effects are still felt this day despite the hammer of misfortune falling almost 13yrs ago.
I know I'm not the only Dad out there whose life was turned upside down. Failures and successes were and still are, a constant companion. Help! I'm a Dad.
Straight above the picture and second from the left is; A Dad in the Raw. This is where my pen goes to paper. I've recently added another tab titled The Dark Side. I decided that if I can put together some thoughts on how Post-Natal Depression and Depression affected our family they would be in a spot of their own. I intended this subject to be included right from the beginning but have successfully avoided doing so to date.
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A primary motivator for putting pen to paper (so to speak) is to share some 'for better, for worse' of being a Dad. My expectations of becoming a Dad and what reality provided are pretty different. I wasn't prepared for the tough stuff not included in the glossy magazines.
When they come home from the hospital with that new baby smell, there is no 6 or 12 month warranty tucked into their soon to be stinky nappy. Some new parents might get a dream run for a while but generally, get ready for being tired in a way that you've not experienced before. It's just not a good feeling to be reduced to shambles, to find your endurance, patience or judgement doesn't live up to your expectations.
When they're a bit older, instead of fun stuff, you might find you're yelling at, not reading to, your little ones. Maybe sitting at the end of their bed, watching them sleep, feeling guilty for being a cranky Dad at the end of the day and hoping you still get the thumbs up tomorrow. Kids are pretty good though; unlike adults they don't seem to hold a grudge for too long, but you can't push your luck; they have limits.
My three are still at home. I have a long way to go and so far, with my two oldest into their teens, find I'm not handling this stuff very well at all. Ah another day, another failure.
Our family life became such that I had to leave my job and be a stay at home Dad. Some speed bumps to come our way include post natal depression, full blown depression, migraine headaches, prescription drug addiction and chronic back injury. I'll also throw in a bit of variety such as constipated babies, a toddler developing a temporary stutter and remote controls copping vomit. That's why the buttons stick!
Post-Natal depression, then full depression threw our family life into turmoil. One day I had a wife and three kids (5yrs, 2yrs and 8wks). The next, 3 kids and a dependent adult. I became a single Dad even though their Mum was home.
This wasn't like the movies. This was real life and it rocked our family, our marriage, our kids and our finances. The effects are still felt this day despite the hammer of misfortune falling almost 13yrs ago.
I know I'm not the only Dad out there whose life was turned upside down. Failures and successes were and still are, a constant companion. Help! I'm a Dad.
Straight above the picture and second from the left is; A Dad in the Raw. This is where my pen goes to paper. I've recently added another tab titled The Dark Side. I decided that if I can put together some thoughts on how Post-Natal Depression and Depression affected our family they would be in a spot of their own. I intended this subject to be included right from the beginning but have successfully avoided doing so to date.
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******
