I wasn't like a full alcoholic or anything but I was having 4-5 beers almost every night after the kids went to bed. Didn't realize how much it was messing with my health and my mood. Been sober for 6 months now and I have actual energy. My relationship with my wife is better because I'm not checked...
Honest post: I miss going to the gym whenever I wanted. I miss weekend trips with my wife where we didn't have to coordinate childcare. I miss being able to just be spontaneous. I miss sleeping 8 hours straight. I miss having meaningful conversations with my wife that didn't involve discussing which...
Had my first real therapy appointment yesterday and I'm not gonna lie, it felt weird sitting in that chair talking to a stranger about my feelings. But man, I needed it. Been carrying a lot of anger and disappointment about how my career turned out and apparently I've been taking it out on my family...
So my 4 year old asked me really loud in the produce section why that lady had a baby in her belly. She was just standing next to us, not even pregnant. My kid was pointing at her stomach. The look on her face. I've never been more embarrassed or tried harder not to laugh. My son then said 'Maybe sh...
There is no pain quite like 3am bathroom trip in the dark and your bare foot finding a single lego brick. It's like a medieval torture device designed by toy companies. My wife was laughing at me hopping around cursing and I'm pretty sure I woke up the kids. This is the real struggle of fatherhood t...
So I've been dealing with pretty bad anxiety the past few months and it's gotten way worse in the evenings. Once the kids go to bed and the house gets quiet, my mind just starts racing about work stuff, money, health problems that probably aren't real. I've tried the breathing exercises everyone tal...
She's had TikTok for like a month and I checked her feed today and there's some questionable content mixed in. Not like terrible but definitely not what I want her watching. I know the algorithm learns from what you click but how do I actually monitor this without her thinking I'm spying? Do I need ...
My 8 year old told his mom that I let him stay up until 9pm watching movies on my week. Now she's saying I'm not following the bedtime routine and wants to take it to court. The thing is, he only does that like once a month as a treat. But I'm wondering if I should be reporting everything I do to he...
During the school week my kids were using their tablets maybe an hour a day but over spring break it ballooned to like 6 hours easy. Now that school started again they don't want to give them up. I feel like I completely lost control. How do other people actually enforce limits? Every time I try to ...
Sobering up 3 years ago showed me I wasn't really present for anything. I was just there physically but checked out. My wife said it best - I was a roommate who paid bills. Now I'm actually engaged, remember conversations, show up when I say I will. My kids trust me again which is wild because I did...
We did a 4 mile loop at a local nature preserve. The 6 year old complained for like the first mile and a half but then he found a walking stick and suddenly he was fine. My 9 year old didn't put his phone down until we were actually on the trail lol. Made it the whole way though and we saw a deer. E...
Spent hours at the gym before fatherhood. Had the perfect routine, tracked everything, was obsessed. Now I barely have time and I'm okay with that. My body has definitely changed but I'm stronger than I was in other ways. Like I can deadlift my 4 year old and a grocery bag in each hand while unlocki...
That's pretty much the whole story. Watched a YouTube video, gathered my tools, turned off the water, and swapped it out in like 45 minutes. My wife was shocked it actually worked. Small wins.
My dad bod is real and I've accepted it.
Started doing this last month and honestly it's become my thing now. Friday nights I get the dough going, let it rise overnight, and Saturday we do a whole pizza night with the kids. They pick their own toppings and it's chaos but in a good way. Way cheaper than ordering out too.