Late to the party, but I made it. Hope there's some pizza left?
I'm okay. Saturday morning. I booked a family photoshoot with my little girls and partner today. We were supposed to do it a month ago, but my partner had a minor surgery. Should be fun, we haven't had good pictures taken in some years and the girls are giants now (ages 3 and 4, no longer babies).
This week has been shaky, a lot of anxiety. My workload seems to keep piling up. I'm in school (doing my MBA), working full time (as a sales and marketing executive), fatherhood, and decided on Monday to start writing again. I wrote about my mental health journey and decided to get really open about it, so regulating through that with feeling vulnerable has been a lot.
It's important to me, though. I think I have a lot to share, and since I lost my mom to a short battle with cancer last year, need a place to process and write. It's easy to get busy and forget to regulate emotions, and writing forces me to slow down and really process my thoughts.
Anyways, sorry for the ramble. You asked. I guess I'm not used to being asked how I am? Fatherhood, am-I-right??
Love what you're doing, Kevin. I'm going to hang out here.
I’m very low. I’ve had an emotionally draining week due to issues in both my private and professional life. We were also busy preparing for our one week long trip that was supposed to start this morning. We were ready to leave, but my son got sick: fever, vomiting, diarrhea. To make it worse, even if he recovers by early next week, we can’t take him to the daycare, as we already informed them that he will be on holiday and consequently they didn’t order any food for him. Next week will be extremely long, we will have to juggle with him and work again and work at night.
Man I'm really feeling the anxiety build up. We're due for our first kid in early July and it's starting to feel really real... Meanwhile my company is going through a really rough patch and I'm worried about my losing my job soon. I have a major interview lined up this week that I'm trying to prep for. All the while knowing that if I do get the job I will likely have little to no paternity leave because I'll be so new at the company. It's really hard to be excited about becoming a Dad right now...
Steady as she goes. Though i could use more help in the PTA. It gets exhausting being the one of two dads volunteering regularly for all the schools requests. But celebrating a birthday with the kids that made me a dad makes the work easier 🙃
Kevin, what a great service you’re doing to new fathers here. God bless you for it. I’m somewhere between a nine and a 10 today. But at 48 with well-adjusted kids on the upper end of the teenage scale, I am blessed. As I read through all of these comments from all of you fathers, it warmed my heart. To all your dad’s with young kids out there, hang in there. God never gives you a challenge that he doesn’t give you the subsequent strength to endure. We’ve been through every experience you’ve described. It gets better… I promise. Much better. But even with that, don’t fail to enjoy the real suffering that comes with this and every phase of life with children. Know that it’s OK to be tired, and to be hurting, and to be cranky, and irritable. It is part of the experience. Know that there is true joy on the other end of a colicky baby who needs and loves you; there’s true joy and a little girl who doesn’t want to sleep, but who needs and loves you. There’s true joy and a little girl who won’t listen and is dangerously curious, but who needs and loves you. If I can offer one little piece of learning, lean in to the suffering you are experiencing now and form your children while they’re very young. They won’t understand you till much later, but then they will thank you for how you loved them. God bless you all and hang in there.
Having a tough week, just drained from work and helping out with our six month old. Feeling the strain of money issues since my wife is leaving her old job and doing more gig work. I’m waiting on a promotion to get processed that I thought would have already come through that would make a significant difference to my pay. And I had to get up at 4 am to drive my sister to the airport on Wednesday and she barely grumbled thank you. The good news is that our kid is doing ok with our non-cry it out sleep training, but man am I more tired than I’ve ever been. It’s for good reason so that’s why I’m at a 3-3.5/10 and not a 1.5, but man it’s not easy. And the kid woke up with a droopy right eye for some reason 🫠
Today is my birthday. I woke up on the couch next to my 9 week old who I took solo through the night so my wife, who has been fighting a yeast infection for weeks that giving her bout after bout of mastitis, could sleep and recover. Spent the day running errands, dropping off our 2.5 yr old, picking up meds. The world is in its chartreuse phase of spring on this brisk, sunny day in Boston. I’ve listened to some great podcasts while driving around. Got a free treat from our local coffee shop. I’m fortunate to be on paternity leave and we’re packing to head up to Maine to collocate with my in-laws for some support. So, as usual, I am many things. I am in the midst of life. It’s a tragic comedy, like always.
I'm personally at a 6, but things are improving. Why, you ask? Well my oldest, who is 10, has a tough time making friends. But this weekend, he's invited a friend for a sleepover, and I cannot contain my joy and excitement for them. My own childhood was rough, and I struggled to find friends. As my kids have grown, I've watched anxiously to see how they would develop relationships, one part worried they'd turn out like me (awkward), another part worried they'd be outgoing and that I wouldn't know how to handle that either. And it turns out I got one of each! Sometimes I dwell on complaining and being cranky, but watching my kids (the youngest is 7) right now, I'm filled with happiness for all they bring to my life.
I’m riding a 9 right now, looking forward to turning it up to 11 at Father John Misty tonight.
Things feel like they’re clicking. My oldest daughter (11) has made friends with a really great kid and she is excited to have a Crayola (non-toxic) friendship again. My youngest (8) got through state testing this week without much anxiety which is a huge improvement for her (and us). Wife and I are looking to get away for a night sometime soon. I’m writing again after more than a year out of practice. And I’m going to help a buddy clean out his basement tomorrow.
6. Excited for the weekend, and yet slightly embarrassed that one of the reasons I'm excited about it is because this is when I allow myself back onto social media. (I treat Instagram more or less like alcohol - imbibing only in moderation, etc. - because otherwise I scroll myself into comparison mode, which can be really harmful to my mental health.)
Not sure where I land on the number scale, but I'm utterly exhausted by the hamster wheel of my 7 year old and 14 year old daughters going to school for a week or two and then being sick for a week, over and over and over again since the start of school. I think that's one of the reasons I'm most excited about Summer break... hopefully a break from someone having a cold every other week. That said, I'm also grateful and feel lucky that we are good and happy and secure and privileged beyond belief in so many ways.
10 out of 10 over here! Work is busy, but I just keep reminding myself that its all for the family. My 5yo is busy with sports and birthday parties. As long as we make sure he gets enough sleep he's a champ. Only thing we are struggling with is trying to get more vegetables in his stomach. A constant fight every night, but at least its time with the family. Hope all of you have a great weekend!
I'm at about a 6.5 - 7 personally. Generally, things are good at the moment, and in myself I feel better than I have done in a long time. But financially, things are starting to look a bit grim. We're really feeling the cost of living at the moment, and it's getting to a point where it's starting to get a bit worrying.
How does the universe know how to pile it all on at once? My car, my dishwasher and my tumble dryer have all conked out within a week of each other. Landlady has began hinting that she's going to be looking to sell up in the next twelve months, so ideally we should be trying to save for a deposit at the moment instead of striving in vain to make it to the end of the month without touching credit cards - something we've not been able to do since my wife went on maternity leave two years ago.
I'm just really fed up of being poor at this point. Feels like we're working our arses off for no gain whatsoever. It's really demoralising and I'm thoroughly demotivated in work as a result.
About a 3. Three weeks into a job search that is going a lot slower than when I looked last year. My wife is anxious not because she doesn't have faith in me but because she naturally can't see the stuff I'm doing in my search because she has her own job to do. Both kids were home sick yesterday and then again today so that's distracting. I have ADHD and I just feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders atm.
Late to the party, but I made it. Hope there's some pizza left?
I'm okay. Saturday morning. I booked a family photoshoot with my little girls and partner today. We were supposed to do it a month ago, but my partner had a minor surgery. Should be fun, we haven't had good pictures taken in some years and the girls are giants now (ages 3 and 4, no longer babies).
This week has been shaky, a lot of anxiety. My workload seems to keep piling up. I'm in school (doing my MBA), working full time (as a sales and marketing executive), fatherhood, and decided on Monday to start writing again. I wrote about my mental health journey and decided to get really open about it, so regulating through that with feeling vulnerable has been a lot.
It's important to me, though. I think I have a lot to share, and since I lost my mom to a short battle with cancer last year, need a place to process and write. It's easy to get busy and forget to regulate emotions, and writing forces me to slow down and really process my thoughts.
Anyways, sorry for the ramble. You asked. I guess I'm not used to being asked how I am? Fatherhood, am-I-right??
Love what you're doing, Kevin. I'm going to hang out here.
I’m very low. I’ve had an emotionally draining week due to issues in both my private and professional life. We were also busy preparing for our one week long trip that was supposed to start this morning. We were ready to leave, but my son got sick: fever, vomiting, diarrhea. To make it worse, even if he recovers by early next week, we can’t take him to the daycare, as we already informed them that he will be on holiday and consequently they didn’t order any food for him. Next week will be extremely long, we will have to juggle with him and work again and work at night.
Man I'm really feeling the anxiety build up. We're due for our first kid in early July and it's starting to feel really real... Meanwhile my company is going through a really rough patch and I'm worried about my losing my job soon. I have a major interview lined up this week that I'm trying to prep for. All the while knowing that if I do get the job I will likely have little to no paternity leave because I'll be so new at the company. It's really hard to be excited about becoming a Dad right now...
Steady as she goes. Though i could use more help in the PTA. It gets exhausting being the one of two dads volunteering regularly for all the schools requests. But celebrating a birthday with the kids that made me a dad makes the work easier 🙃
Kevin, what a great service you’re doing to new fathers here. God bless you for it. I’m somewhere between a nine and a 10 today. But at 48 with well-adjusted kids on the upper end of the teenage scale, I am blessed. As I read through all of these comments from all of you fathers, it warmed my heart. To all your dad’s with young kids out there, hang in there. God never gives you a challenge that he doesn’t give you the subsequent strength to endure. We’ve been through every experience you’ve described. It gets better… I promise. Much better. But even with that, don’t fail to enjoy the real suffering that comes with this and every phase of life with children. Know that it’s OK to be tired, and to be hurting, and to be cranky, and irritable. It is part of the experience. Know that there is true joy on the other end of a colicky baby who needs and loves you; there’s true joy and a little girl who doesn’t want to sleep, but who needs and loves you. There’s true joy and a little girl who won’t listen and is dangerously curious, but who needs and loves you. If I can offer one little piece of learning, lean in to the suffering you are experiencing now and form your children while they’re very young. They won’t understand you till much later, but then they will thank you for how you loved them. God bless you all and hang in there.
Having a tough week, just drained from work and helping out with our six month old. Feeling the strain of money issues since my wife is leaving her old job and doing more gig work. I’m waiting on a promotion to get processed that I thought would have already come through that would make a significant difference to my pay. And I had to get up at 4 am to drive my sister to the airport on Wednesday and she barely grumbled thank you. The good news is that our kid is doing ok with our non-cry it out sleep training, but man am I more tired than I’ve ever been. It’s for good reason so that’s why I’m at a 3-3.5/10 and not a 1.5, but man it’s not easy. And the kid woke up with a droopy right eye for some reason 🫠
Today is my birthday. I woke up on the couch next to my 9 week old who I took solo through the night so my wife, who has been fighting a yeast infection for weeks that giving her bout after bout of mastitis, could sleep and recover. Spent the day running errands, dropping off our 2.5 yr old, picking up meds. The world is in its chartreuse phase of spring on this brisk, sunny day in Boston. I’ve listened to some great podcasts while driving around. Got a free treat from our local coffee shop. I’m fortunate to be on paternity leave and we’re packing to head up to Maine to collocate with my in-laws for some support. So, as usual, I am many things. I am in the midst of life. It’s a tragic comedy, like always.
As you can see by my photo, I'm an OG. I have two married children and 5 grands.
The hardest thing about being a father is that it takes 20 years for good feeback.
I'm personally at a 6, but things are improving. Why, you ask? Well my oldest, who is 10, has a tough time making friends. But this weekend, he's invited a friend for a sleepover, and I cannot contain my joy and excitement for them. My own childhood was rough, and I struggled to find friends. As my kids have grown, I've watched anxiously to see how they would develop relationships, one part worried they'd turn out like me (awkward), another part worried they'd be outgoing and that I wouldn't know how to handle that either. And it turns out I got one of each! Sometimes I dwell on complaining and being cranky, but watching my kids (the youngest is 7) right now, I'm filled with happiness for all they bring to my life.
I’m riding a 9 right now, looking forward to turning it up to 11 at Father John Misty tonight.
Things feel like they’re clicking. My oldest daughter (11) has made friends with a really great kid and she is excited to have a Crayola (non-toxic) friendship again. My youngest (8) got through state testing this week without much anxiety which is a huge improvement for her (and us). Wife and I are looking to get away for a night sometime soon. I’m writing again after more than a year out of practice. And I’m going to help a buddy clean out his basement tomorrow.
6. Excited for the weekend, and yet slightly embarrassed that one of the reasons I'm excited about it is because this is when I allow myself back onto social media. (I treat Instagram more or less like alcohol - imbibing only in moderation, etc. - because otherwise I scroll myself into comparison mode, which can be really harmful to my mental health.)
Not sure where I land on the number scale, but I'm utterly exhausted by the hamster wheel of my 7 year old and 14 year old daughters going to school for a week or two and then being sick for a week, over and over and over again since the start of school. I think that's one of the reasons I'm most excited about Summer break... hopefully a break from someone having a cold every other week. That said, I'm also grateful and feel lucky that we are good and happy and secure and privileged beyond belief in so many ways.
Having a toddler and a 5 month old is taking a toll on the family. Hoping once we are all getting more sleep things will improve.
10 out of 10 over here! Work is busy, but I just keep reminding myself that its all for the family. My 5yo is busy with sports and birthday parties. As long as we make sure he gets enough sleep he's a champ. Only thing we are struggling with is trying to get more vegetables in his stomach. A constant fight every night, but at least its time with the family. Hope all of you have a great weekend!
I'm at about a 6.5 - 7 personally. Generally, things are good at the moment, and in myself I feel better than I have done in a long time. But financially, things are starting to look a bit grim. We're really feeling the cost of living at the moment, and it's getting to a point where it's starting to get a bit worrying.
How does the universe know how to pile it all on at once? My car, my dishwasher and my tumble dryer have all conked out within a week of each other. Landlady has began hinting that she's going to be looking to sell up in the next twelve months, so ideally we should be trying to save for a deposit at the moment instead of striving in vain to make it to the end of the month without touching credit cards - something we've not been able to do since my wife went on maternity leave two years ago.
I'm just really fed up of being poor at this point. Feels like we're working our arses off for no gain whatsoever. It's really demoralising and I'm thoroughly demotivated in work as a result.
About a 3. Three weeks into a job search that is going a lot slower than when I looked last year. My wife is anxious not because she doesn't have faith in me but because she naturally can't see the stuff I'm doing in my search because she has her own job to do. Both kids were home sick yesterday and then again today so that's distracting. I have ADHD and I just feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders atm.