Brilliant dad feature week 28
Dear Dads is written by Dan Scully. He is a returned veteran, amateur photographer, lover of cars, blogger and above all else a dad and husband. On his days off he enjoys spending time with his family, driving his V8 Sportswagon, camping, walking his two dogs and exploring the great outdoors with his wife and daughters.
I started Dear Dads after my wife had a not so smooth labour of our second child. It was quite traumatic for me, but I didn’t feel I could express my angst as I was not the one going through labour. I decided to write about my experience so that my wife could see her labour through my eyes. This also allowed my wife to remember her birth as she had forgotten a lot of it. Once family and friends read my birth story they told me that I should continue writing as they had enjoyed how I described my experience, thus Dear Dads was born.
Thank you very much to Dan for taking part in the Brilliant Dad Feature.
1. Have you always wanted to be a dad?
Since I was 22 I wanted to be a dad, always wanted to help guide my children through life and teach them about our amazing world. It wasn’t until I actually became a dad that I realised how amazing the experience really is.
2. How did you feel when your children were born?
Both my wife’s labours were difficult and over 14 hours long. The moment both my daughters came into the world was overwhelming for me and being totally honest I cried. The proceeding hour after birth was a roller coaster of emotion, happiness, fear that I would fail as a dad, excitement that I would finally be able to raise my children in this world, apprehension that I did not know enough myself to be able to teach my girls and on top of everything contentment that I had created life with my soul mate.
3. What have been your most rewarding experiences so far as a Dad?
I have had numerous so far in the last three years. From watching my youngest walk for the first time after having hip surgery, to watching both girls play and care for each other. When I see them express concern and care for each other if one is sick or sore it really makes me feel like I am succeeding as a parent. However, our journey as a family has been a little rocky due to some health issues with both girls early on, but just watching them play interact and love each other is a very rewarding experience every day. When they show love and emotion towards my wife and I as a dad I feel like superman.
4. What are some of the funniest moments to have happened to you as a dad?
Teaching my girls the name of things has lead to a few funny moments when we are out shopping and my youngest will point to an old man in a hat and proudly proclaim he is postman pat, or the time that my eldest struck up a conversation with a stranger behind us at a restaurant and invited her over for coffee. Honestly the list is endless, they have my wife in stitches for the most random things. It can be something really small that will make us both break out in laughter, a side comment from the girls, a dance they have made up, even things that they draw on the black board or in their books will make us laugh. They are special moments for my wife and I, even more so because someone looking from the outside in would not know why we are in fits of laughter.
5. Have there been any situations with your children that you have found difficult to cope with?
Both my daughters had health implications after they were born. My eldest was a failure to thrive baby and we nearly lost her at 18 days old as her body started to shut down. It was a stressful time for me especially as the doctors and specialists did not know what was wrong. Being a new dad I did not have the experience or confidence to make my own decisions for my child. I write about it in one of my blogs. The other particular situation was being told that my youngest daughter had hip displacia and would require surgery. This was difficult for me to comprehend that they would be operating on my 12 month old child. I also blogged about my journey with this in Dear Dads.
6. What are your dreams and hopes for your children?
My dreams for my daughters is that they are happy. I hope that what ever they do in life they are happy. I dream that they will be successful and not have to struggle in life but the reality is that life is tough. What I may want for my girls will be different to what they want. I don’t wish to push my dreams into them. All I ever hope for my girls is that what ever life throws at them they will be able to rise above and be happy.
