Brilliant dad feature week 35

October 23, 2015

My name is Gerad, I’m 31 years old and have been married to my wife Diane for 8 years. We have a beautiful four and a half year old daughter named Jocelyn Joy Haupt, or JoJo as we call her.

I’m the General Manager of our local movie theatre and I’m also a signed model with Exel Model Management. I’m a fitness fanatic that loves to do obstacle course racing. My daughter loves to do those as well and just finished her second Spartan Race. I love music and play in our church worship band.

I’m the author of the Spartan Daddy blog that talks about fatherhood and fitness. I’m also the only left hander in my family.

1. Have you always wanted to be a dad?

I have always wanted to be a dad. I was one of the lucky ones and had a great example for a father. My father had his passions growing up and they became my passions. I’ve always wanted to experience the joys of fatherhood.

2. How did you feel when your children were born?

My daughter loves to tell the story of her being born more than she loves to hear it. She tells of how when she was born, I was the first person she looked at and I cried happy tears. “Daddy, did you cry happy tears?” “Yes I did sweetheart because I finally got to meet this little person that I’ve been talking to and singing to in mommy’s belly. I remember asking the nurse after the first poopy diaper, “how do you clean one of these things?” Being a guy, I was clueless. But I learned, and I finally felt that missing piece of my heart that was destined for my child had finally come to life.

3. What have been your most rewarding experiences so far as a Dad?

The most rewarding experiences for me as a dad are when I get to see my child realize her passions. It’s a bonus when those passions are your passions. I’m a dad that’s super into fitness and obstacle course racing. Through my passion, my daughter shops for running shoes instead of toys, instead of playing video games she is asking to run and play outside, instead of asking to go the toy store she asks to run a Spartan Race with me. She earned her second finishers medal at the Spartan race this past weekend in Virginia, and she is only 4 1/2. Seeing your daughter push herself into becoming a better person, a better human, someone who doesn’t give up, someone who is excited about completing something difficult and not giving up, there isn’t anything like that for me. I teared up watching her huge smile as she got her medal placed around her neck. She did that, not me, she did that.

4. What are some of funniest moments to have happened to you as a dad?

Some of the funniest moments that have happened to me as a dad are some of the things my daughter says. I wrote a blog about it highlighting some of the funny ones I could remember. If I had to pick one event, I would choose this one day that we had several friends and their kids over to our house for a get together. They were all playing on the swing set, jumping on the little trampoline, and playing in the little kiddie pool. One of the parents came over to my wife and said, “ummmm, did you know your daughter is naked?” She looked over and there was my daughter butt-naked, standing up, peeing against a tree. When asked what she was doing, she said “I was peeing like daddy.”

5. Have there been any situations with your children that you have found difficult to cope with?

One of the most difficult situations I’ve had to deal with is currently happening as we speak. My daughter has an extremely lazy eye that has forced her to wear glasses at a young age. The condition is degenerative and the only way to fix it is to make her bad eye stronger by putting a patch on her good eye. The patch will force her to use the muscles in the bad eye, eventually correcting her vision. The problem is, she is almost legally blind in her bad eye. When you cover up the good eye, she can’t see. She has panic attacks and hates it. And you know what? I don’t blame her. However, if she doesn’t wear the patch, the condition will get worse and she will eventually lose sight in her bad eye which will eventually lead to her losing sight in the good eye. So how do you get a 4 year old to willfully give up her vision for a minimum of six hours a day for the next year by putting a patch on the eye that’s makes her eyesight functional? I’m still trying to figure that out.

6. What are your dreams and hopes for your children?

My dream and hope for my child is that she grows up to be a responsible adult that loves the Lord, loves her family, and loves her kids. I want her to know that she can do anything she puts her mind to. She can push through anything. She should never give up on what she wants to accomplish. More importantly, I want her to know that people will remember her heart more than any accomplishment. A beautiful heart is the prettiest thing you can have.

Thank you very much for Gerad taking part in the Brilliant Dad Feature.