Lost my identity but found something better
Before kids I had this whole image of who I was. Had hobbies, worked late, spent money on stuff I thought mattered. Then my first was born and I just felt lost for like a year. Couldn't remember who I was outside of being a dad. Miss some of that independence, not gonna lie. But I'm learning that being a dad isn't replacing who I am, it's just adding this whole new dimension to it. Starting to find hobbies I can do WITH my kids instead of away from them. Been rebuilding myself around that and it's way better.
The first one changes you completely doesn't it? All that stuff we thought defined us suddenly feels pretty empty compared to what we're building with our kids. It's wild how fast that switch flips.