Welcome back! We all have secrets and this is where we spill them. This weekend, in light of Father’s Day, we wanted to honor all the dads out there. So sit back, relax, and see what Beijing babas are really thinking.
Does this smell clean? Before having a child, my wife was always complaining that I had too many T-shirts. We have a 7-month-old… and now she complains I never have any clean shirts.
Future Bartender: My 4-year-old opened a tall boy for me at a party, brought it over, and said, “I got this for you daddy because it makes you happy!”
It was the sweetest thing, and odd because of course, it’s my 4-year-old getting me a beer. But everyone at the party was like, “Excellent parenting!”
She Gets it From Her Mother: My 6-year-old made me a Father’s Day coupon book at school filled with vouchers for things like getting to sleep in for an entire weekend and washing a car that I don’t have. The last one in the book was for ten free hugs with ten little checkboxes at the bottom.
I enthusiastically thanked her and scooped her into my arms. She returned the bear hug, looked at me with total love and sincerity, and announced, “That’s one, cross it off so we don’t lose count.”
That’s Cold: We were on assignment in Russia. It was the middle of the winter and my son and I fought about him wearing a coat to wait at the bus stop. Eventually, he capitulated and stood in stony silence bundled up in his parka. As the bus approached he looked at me, motioned me to lean down so he could tell me a secret. I eagerly stooped over, thinking it would be an “I love you” or “I’m sorry” to put the argument behind us. Instead, in his most intense little voice, he whispered in my ear, “You are the worst parent ever!”
Well played little man…That one stung.
The Memory is the Second Thing to Go: My wife and I were reminiscing with my mother-in-law about our wedding day. We were glossing over the list of all the people who were there and the funny things they had done or speeches they had made. All of a sudden, I said “I don’t remember where our boys were that day.” They hadn’t been born yet.
And that moment made it clear to me how much being a dad changes you. I literally couldn’t remember what life before them had been like.
KEEP READING: Tell Me You’re a Teacher Without Telling Me You’re a Teacher: Part 2
Photos: Unsplash, Pixel
