How life changed since becoming a dad. Identity shifts, things you miss, things you gained, the transformation of fatherhood.
832 threads
Five years in corporate sales. Good money, terrible hours, worse stress. My first son was born and I missed it because of a stupid client dinner. That night I decided something had
Married my high school sweetheart, had kids right away, got the house, the minivan, the whole thing by 28. Completely different life than my buddies who traveled and slept till noo
Used to be the dad who couldn't keep up with his kids at the park. Got winded walking up stairs. Then my 6 year old asked why I was always so tired and something just clicked. Star
Quit my job 2 years ago when my third kid was born and honestly I don't recognize myself anymore. Used to wear suits, hit the gym at 5am, had the whole career trajectory thing goin
I was a disaster. Drinking every night, missing my kids' stuff, lying to my wife constantly. My oldest wouldn't even look at me and honestly I deserved that. Started going to meeti
Grew up wanting to escape our small town and spent 15 years in the city working finance. Wife and I decided to move back when we had kids and I thought I'd hate it. Turns out I was
Two years ago I got this big promotion I'd been working toward forever. Felt amazing for like a week. Then my son was born last year and honestly that's been the biggest accomplish
Not gonna lie, I miss sleeping through the night without getting kicked in the face. I miss going to the bathroom without someone pounding on the door asking for something. I miss
Before kids my wife and I would have these long deep conversations about life and dreams and stuff. Now most of our conversations are 'Did you pack his lunch? No. Did YOU pack it?
Used to sleep till 10am on weekends, play video games till midnight, go out whenever I wanted. Now I'm up at 6am whether I want to be or not, my idea of a good night out is being h
Left a soul crushing marketing job 8 months ago to do freelance work and honestly I'm scared most days. Some weeks are amazing, other weeks I'm terrified I made the worst decision
Two years ago I was 40 pounds overweight, barely able to chase my kids around the yard without getting winded. Started running just to lose weight but it became this whole thing. D
Started night classes last semester to finally finish my degree. I'm exhausted all the time and my wife is basically running the household while I'm studying. Miss just being home
Used to be the guy who always needed a beer in his hand. Didn't think I had a problem until I realized I was missing my kids growing up because I was drunk. Got sober and everythin
10 years ago I was a lazy guy. Minimum effort on everything. Didn't really care about much beyond myself. Becoming a dad forced me to grow up but somewhere along the way it stopped
Got married young, became a dad at 24. Spent my whole adult life as a husband and father. Now I'm wondering who I am when I'm not in those roles. Had a moment last week where I rea
Used to be the guy who stayed out late, went to concerts, had spontaneous road trips planned on weekends. Had my whole identity wrapped up in being independent and free. Then my fi
Random morning sex. Sleeping past 6am. Watching whole movies without pausing. Going out without having to plan everything weeks in advance. Being able to be selfish with my time an
Left a six figure job at 42 to start a handyman business with my brother. Everyone thought I was insane. I was stressed 24/7, drinking too much coffee, barely saw my family even th
Man I was that guy who thought having kids would ruin everything. Spent my 20s chasing a good time, staying out late, spending money on stupid stuff. Got married at 28, first kid a