How life changed since becoming a dad. Identity shifts, things you miss, things you gained, the transformation of fatherhood.
752 threads
Made the jump last year. Left a six figure job to freelance and be more present for the kids. The money part is actually not as bad as I thought it would be, but holy crap I miss a
Was the guy who couldn't get through a weekend without drinking. Figured I'd lose all my friends when I quit. Turns out most of them were just drinking buddies. What I gained thoug
Never thought I'd be the suburban dad with the minivan and the lawn I care about. Was a city guy, thought suburbs were boring. Had our second kid and realized we needed space and b
Used to spend 2 hours a day at the gym, had my meals prepped, was shredded. Now I've got two kids under 5 and I'm lucky if I get 20 minutes to myself. My abs are gone, replaced by
Spent 10 years in investment banking. Made great money, had the title, the respect from certain people. Then my oldest started school and I realized I was missing everything. Switc
I used to be the guy organizing weekend trips, staying out til 2am, always up for whatever. Then my daughter was born and everything just shifted. I'm not that guy anymore. I leave
This is probably weird to admit but when I get a rare evening to myself now I kind of hate it. Used to dream about having the house to myself, just me and whatever I wanted. Now wh
Used to be that guy who couldn't function before 10am. Now I'm up at 5:30 every morning whether I like it or not because my kids treat 6am like it's a reasonable time to be awake a
Pre-kids me would have a stroke seeing my living room right now. There are literally three different toys in my line of sight, a dried up waffle under the couch, and I'm wearing th
Before kids I was spontaneous, could pick up and go anywhere. Had money for stupid stuff I didn't need. Could take a girl out without planning childcare weeks in advance. Now? I pl
Used to stay up til 2am gaming and watching streams. Now I'm up at 5 doing dad stuff and honestly I kinda miss those nights. But then my 4 year old runs in and crawls into bed with
Everything flipped overnight. Went from part-time parenting to sole custody and it hit hard. First few months were chaos, I couldn't keep up with schedules and homework and laundry
Had a good corporate gig, lots of hours. Finally hit a breaking point when my son asked me why I missed his baseball game and I realized I didn't even know he was playing. Took a s
Married 12 years now with 3 kids. Wouldn't change it but man I do miss sleeping past 630am on weekends. Miss going to the gym whenever I wanted without planning like a military ope
Got laid off about 4 years ago and honestly it was the best thing that ever happened even though it was terrifying at the time. Was the guy pulling 70 hour weeks, missing school pl
Used to be that guy who thought parenting was just something that happened to you, you know? Didn't really have a role model for what a present dad looked like. But when my oldest
I used to be the guy staying up till 2am playing video games and sleeping till noon on weekends. Now I'm awake at 5am whether I want to be or not because that's just what happens w
Used to be able to just grab my buddies and hit the road for a weekend whenever. Road trips were spontaneous, no planning, just go. Now I need to pack enough stuff for a small army
Seriously. Vacuum every week, no trash, never ate in it. My car was immaculate. Now there are goldfish crackers in places I didn't know existed. The floor mats are basically a scie
Spent 15 years working construction, decent money but totally unfulfilled. Decided to go back for my degree part time while still working. Took me 6 years total but I finished and