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The Dad Gift Guide

11/24/2021

Our son is two and is now at the age where he grasps onto ideas and family traditions. Unlike the previous holidays, this year he will actually remember what he got. My wife and I have already knocked out gifts for our son (and most of our family for that matter) just out of protest of the holiday hustle that brings out the chaos in all our lives.

As we gear up for long lines, increased traffic and nonstop Christmas consumerism, I’ve been reflecting on additional small, but meaningful gifts I could give our son this holiday season. It’s such an impactful list, I checked it twice and wanted to share it with you in hopes we could grow it:

The gift of my attention. I try to put the phone down and on “do not disturb” when I get home from work. With a new job and running a dozen social media accounts between work, podcast and personal, I sometimes fall victim to needless scrolls and checks of the inbox that takes me away from focusing on my job at home. That’s why I’ve pulled all social apps into one folder called “NOISE” and put it in a place that I’d have to work to get to just to take a moment of my attention away from him.
The joy of one more improv song. I like to sing and now my son is trying to find his voice, too. We’ll sing in the car, during diaper changes and before bed. Each improvised duet together is one more memory and one more closer to our last song together as he gets older. I’m ready to teach him the 12 Days of Christmas just to spread the joy of song with him this holiday season and to ensure I get the most time possible singing with him.
The gift of five more minutes. Some of us want five more minutes in bed, while others want five more minutes of screen time. My focus is to give the gift of five more minutes. That’s 300 more seconds of hikeball (football) or grounders (rolling of the baseball with his new glove) or even one more round of hide and seek. We all can find five more minutes in our days.
The excitement of one random adventure. We have a little hiker on our hands. He loves exploring the woods and now that he has his first backpack he likes it even more. I also introduced him to the world of fort building. Either way, I’m going to try my damnedest to give the little guy a great December adventure. I have a few ideas and close to pulling it all together.
The everlasting memory of… In all honesty, I’m not sure what that memory is going to be, but I want to make one. I want to make one so badly that I actually think it would be the best gift I could receive this Christmas.

As we enter this holiday gift giving season, I hope that you dads reading this are able to give the gift that keeps on giving to your children. Let’s keep this list growing. Please, comment below, and add to this list!

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Tune-Up Tuesday: Live Like a Dadass

11/12/2021

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“I have a ridiculously beautiful wife who's super sexy, and as long as she's happy with me, I don't need to look in the mirror and think, "How do I stack up next to Bradley Cooper? Would Cooper rock this shirt?" Doesn't matter. He does not have your wife. You do.”
-Nick Offerman

If you have the privilege to have a significant other take this quote to heart for several reasons:

For one, and I say this from personal experience, paying attention to each other is so important. Your partner matters and their opinion of you and your relationship absolutely matters.

Second, your opinion of yourself and they way you talk about and to yourself absolutely matters. You are your toughest critic and the voice you hear the most is your own. Stop playing the comparison olympics, it benefits no one. Instead of asking how you stack up to some celebrity or even friend, try asking how you stack up against a previous version of yourself. Have you made the progress you wanted to make? There is no first place prize for living life, just try to be the best version of yourself and do your best everyday.

That my friends is truly how to live like a DADASS!

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The Dad Gift Guide

Tune-Up Tuesday: Live Like a Dadass

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