How life changed since becoming a dad. Identity shifts, things you miss, things you gained, the transformation of fatherhood.
550 threads
Spent fifteen years climbing the ladder at some soulless Fortune 500 company. Making decent money but missing my kids's childhoods. Stress was destroying my health. Finally quit la
Two years ago we left the city rat race and moved to my wife's hometown. It was culture shock hard. Miss good restaurants, miss my old friend group, miss the anonymity honestly. Bu
Got laid off two years ago and it was terrifying at first. But instead of immediately jumping to another 60 hour a week job, I took three months. Went to my kids' soccer games. Act
I'm sitting here watching my 12 year old play baseball and he's not worried that I'm going to embarrass him or show up late or smelling like a bar. That's huge. The first two years
This is the hard one to admit. When my ex and I split three years ago I blamed her for everything. Therapy made me see I was checked out emotionally, critical all the time, never t
Used to be all about staying in shape, meal prepping, hitting the gym 5 days a week. Now I'm lucky if I get three workouts in and I've definitely put on some weight. I miss having
First few years after my son was born I literally became just 'dad' to everyone including myself. Every conversation was about him, every plan involved nap schedules, I didn't have
This is gonna sound cheesy but I'm just in a reflective mood. Five years ago I was the guy saying I didn't want kids, wanted to stay flexible, travel whenever, sleep till noon. My
So I made the jump last year. Was making good money in finance but was always stressed, never home, missed everything with the kids. My wife had a good stable job so we decided I'd
My divorce finalized two years ago and I'm a completely different man than I was before. I was angry at the world, blamed everyone else for my problems, was bitter all the time. Ha
A decade ago I hit rock bottom with alcohol. Lost my job, nearly lost my family, was basically a shell of a person. Got into recovery and did the work. Today I'm 10 years clean, ha
Five years ago I was pushing 280 pounds, pre diabetic, couldn't play with my kids without getting winded. I looked in the mirror and decided something had to change. Been hitting t
When the marriage ended I had this moment where I realized I'd built my entire identity around being a husband and a dad in this package deal. Suddenly I was just a single guy tryi
Spent 15 years climbing the ladder at a big company. Had the title, the salary, the corner office, the whole deal. But I was miserable. My identity was wrapped up in being a corpor
Spent my 30s just accepting I was the big guy. Then my doctor sat me down and said my heart wasn't going to make it if I didn't change something. Started slow, just walking with my
I was the guy who was always out, always the life of the party, defined myself by who I was hanging with. Then my daughter was born and everything just clicked into place in a weir
Married a woman with two kids five years ago and honestly I was terrified. I wasn't a natural at this. But I showed up every day even when it was awkward. Went to their soccer game
I was always the 'too tired' dad. Too tired to play in the yard, too tired to take the kids hiking, too tired for anything. Couple years ago I was like 80 pounds overweight and my
I'm writing this because I never thought I'd be here. A decade ago I was that guy showing up late to pickup, missing school plays, making excuses. My kids barely knew me. Hit rock
Spent 15 years climbing the ladder, making great money, hating my life. Always told myself it was for the kids but really I was just running from being present. Finally quit 6 mont