“You Think One Child Is Hard?” – #40Days40Dads

Today’s entry in the #40Days40Dads campaign was submitted by Andrew, another one of my best college friends who very soon after college abandoned the bachelor life, got married and started making (brilliant) babies. Since he permanently signed off of Facebook a few years ago and we were never the type to really talk on the phone, I have had to mostly rely on his wife and mommy blogger extraordinaire–A Blog for My Mom–to provide me with updates and glimpses into the dynamic of his steadily growing family.¹ He is a devoted father to a brood of adorable children and it is a role that he clearly sees as a vocation in his answers below. Andrew and his family recently ventured out into the country, bought a house with some land and are slowly moving toward the farming life–which is not at all something I would have predicted back in college! I’ll be curious to see how their family continues to grow and what adventures await them. Thanks for playing, Andrew!

Dad #7: Andrew

Andrew wins the “Most Fruitful and Multiplied” prize so far among #40Days40Dads contestants. He is the father of a 6.5-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, 3-year-old twins and a 15-month-old boy.

What was the moment when you first felt like a father?

Our first ultrasound appointment with our oldest, where he was doing a ridiculous number of cartwheels in the womb.

What’s your favorite part about being a father?

The shrieks of glee from my daughters pretty much every time I walk through the door after work, which make it pretty difficult to stay annoyed/frustrated if I have had a long day at the office.

What’s the hardest part about being a father?

As my number of children increases, it has become more difficult to purposely spend time with each of them every day. Also, working out of the house for (at a minimum) 9.5 hours of the ~12 hours they are awake each day is incredibly difficult.

What’s the dumbest/funniest thing that your kid has cried about or fought with you over?

If I had a nickel… None of my children really have…calm…personalities, meaning that they are always likely to fly off the handle at pretty much any slight that is directed their way (and many that aren’t). My current favorites are the twins, who (taking after their elder brother, who does–and continues to do–the same thing), argue with facts that are clearly true.

What are you most proud of having taught/shared with your kids or what are you most looking forward to teaching/sharing with them?

We just moved to a house with a lot of land and are going to start ramping up our farming activities, so I am very much looking forward to the children learning (alongside my wife and me in some ways) how to grow food, take care of animals, etc. That’s something that I was not really exposed to growing up.

What’s your favorite thing about your kids?

How much they love to do the things that all kids *should* love to do that have been somewhat lost in our technology-crazed age–read, waste time outside, play pretend.

If you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice when you first became a father, what would you say?

You think one child is hard? Twins are going to be so much worse! 🙂 Seriously, though, I would advise myself not to waste time reading the (limited) parenting resources I did, because they all went out the window very soon after our eldest was born.

Any other comments to share on fatherhood?

Despite the hardships that come with it, being a father is the single most significant thing that a man can do with his life. In an age where so many men seek things like power, prestige, and fame from so many sources (and not all of them worthwhile), I hope that in the coming years, there will be a rediscovery of the ultimate importance of fatherhood in building up (or rebuilding, depending on how you look at it) our society.

If you’re a father or you know a father who would like to share his story, send him to this link to answer the questions. Stay tuned for another dad’s crib notes tomorrow!

1. Honestly, Rosie’s blog was a big inspiration for this one, as I’ve seen how well she has been able to keep track of memories and milestones, while also keeping people entertainingly informed about her life. Even if you don’t know her, you should check it out.