Mr Mammy
Being a dad, especially to 3 girls is something special. A bond between a dad and daughter is hard to put into context. I don’t have a son (that I know about!!!) so I can’t compare it, I can only write about my own experience.
From the very start when my beautiful brave wife brought my 3 ladies into this world, when I got to hold my girls in my arms, when they first grabbed one of my fingers with their whole tiny little hand I was hooked. I immediately said to myself “God help anybody if they ever hurt you”. It’s strange, it’s an instant feeling of “I must protect you” hero kind of thing and I’m no fighter, I’m an incredibly good lover but no fighter but from the moment they are born you would kill for them!
Once the “I’m going to protect you” hero status was firmly set in my mind it was down to work.
The nappy changes, dear Jesus some were gut wrenchingly bad! Always a joy when some of that gear gets under your fingernails! This is especially fun when you are hung-over! You quickly learn from this that those nights out followed by the day after begin to become less and less appealing…..it’s just not worth it, try telling a 2 year old that you can’t get up and play at 7am because your head is sore due to drinking too much “7UP” the night before.
The baths, the mess, the fights, food everywhere, destroying what I considered “valuable” items because they thought it was a toy. The night feeds are good though, it’s just you and your baby, nice and quiet and peaceful. None of it is bad; it’s all part of it.
Now they are a little older they have taken on their daddy’s impressive art form of sarcasm, in fact the three of them are a match for me at times! Some call it cheeky, I call it clever…….it’s all in the delivery! SARCASM “The witty will have fun but the stupid won’t get it”
They drive me mad, they make me laugh, they make me cry, they cry themselves, they crash their bicycles into my shins, they give me hugs and kisses, they mess my car, they pull the ears on our dog (although I think he likes that) they got me excited about Santa again, I now believe in him again…..I have to, it’s the only thing that gets me through the pain of looking at our bank account in January! It’s all part of it!
I was asked to write an article about my experience of being a dad, who am I to say what makes a good daddy, I’m sure some of my parenting skills are questionable but I do my best.
The one piece of advice I would give to any future dad if it was ever sought from me would be:
Just be a dad, it’s your job and it will come naturally. Be there for them, listen to their crazy questions, answer their crazy questions, kiss their cuts and bumps better, make them laugh; hug them as much as you can. When they are little they look up to you, when they grow up they will still look up to you, they will always be your little boy or girl no matter what and you will always be their daddy but not as good a daddy as I am because I am awesome!
