A brief interview tih a handsome young dad
Be involved. Be present. Get a bicycle.
In honour of Father’s Day, here is a brief interview with a handsome young dad (AHYD for short).
Me: What advice would you give other dad’s?
AHYD: Be involved. Be present. Get a bicycle.
Me: What do you mean “be present”?
AHYD: Give your children your time. When you have a limited time budget and limited emotional bandwidth, you have to choose how to spend each of these wisely.
Discussion about emotional bandwidth ensues…
My summary of our discussion: Basically, at the end of a long working day in which there are many demands and much pressure, one can arrive home somewhat emotionally depleted and want nothing more than to lie on the couch watching downhill mountain biking videos. But, that doesn’t help when the children are in need of time and attention. Sometimes one has to put one’s own needs aside in order to be fully present to play and interact while the children are awake.
AHYD playing charades with his children
Back to the interview…
Me: Get a bicycle?
Actually, no, to be honest I didn’t interrogate this part because I know the answer. Get a bicycle means find something you love to do for yourself and do it. This is AHYD’s way of self-care, exercise and getting out there in the world to move freely through the air with speed and replenish his emotional bandwidth.
Post-script: no handsome young dads were harmed in this interview.
Post-post-script: I am married to this handsome young dad. He is truly a great dad. And, yes, we’re both definitely still claiming the “young” bit.
