Modern Day Dads

This is where most publishers get the chance to wax nostalgically about their childhood, their pet peeves, hobbies, and alma maters while the reader is hoping for a point.

That’s not really my style.

I will tell you about what things in my life make this type of blog relevant to me. And, if any of it resonates with you, I’m sure you’ll stick around.

First, I was raised by a single mother. That made things different in regard to the role of traditional father figure in my life. Fortunately, I had a Mom that did her best to pinch-hit. When necessary, my grandfather, and to an extent, my older brother were there filling in where and when possible. Now, this bit of back-story isn’t meant to illicit sympathy, it’s just to set a starting point that leads to this experiment we’re engaging in on this site.

So, taking the example of my own family unit and adding to it all of the idealized images of the 80’s, I grew up thinking that my story was abnormal. When I got into the larger world, I soon realized that it was more normal than I suspected. Across culture, ethnicity, and religion, my observations showed that there was no one perfected family unit to be idealized. Then, I got married and started having a family and I realized an unspoken secret. Despite the fact that there seems to be an inherent randomness to the form of the human family, we all seek that perfect synergy that the family can provide under what we conceive as the “right” set of circumstances.

So, I find myself older and with a great many more inputs and observations; a father and husband, still seeking that illusive ideal.

Recently, I decided that with global access to the minds of innumerable internet users, it was certain that I would find other fathers trying to find how they could help build that perfect unit. How, through their effort and influence, they could move their families closer to that ideal state.

Well, I was a little disappointed. Most online resources want to concentrate on betterment through hippie hand-holding and singing Kum-baya. The rest of the sites, blogs and forums I found were all buddy sites to arrange group play-dates or talk about great fishing trips the contributors took.

So, after a week of research on how to blog, this is my attempt to foster dialogue and interaction on pertinent topics that might help me and Dads like me gain insight, develop and exchange ideas and resources, and strategize our way to ever stronger and more productive family experiences.

Let’s get started.