Chad Miller has found that being a father has remade his life.
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I’ve been so obsessed with working hard, counting dollars, being logical and professional—losing sight of the important healthy things we should be doing every day. Then came my son.
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Fatherhood has recharged my emotional batteries and made me human again. Something I didn’t know what I needed until it happened. I’ve been so obsessed with working hard, counting dollars, being logical and professional—losing sight of the important healthy things we should be doing every day. Lessons I learned as a child had been long forgotten and I was on a path of an emotionally drained, non-stop working robot. Then came my son.
Everyone knows being a stay-at-home parent forces you to learn new skills, but it’s more than that. Teaching my son the basics of life principles has given me a refresher course on how I should live and act. Things that took a back-burner since I started this daily grind of adulthood. Thank goodness I unknowingly enrolled in “reminding you what’s important 101” with an awesome little professor, my son Ollie. Of course, I have to give a shout out to my wife as without her dedication and help, I could never be the stay-at-home dad that I am.
8 Life Lessons I taught My son and I relearned myself:
Lesson 1: It’s okay to make mistakes and say sorry (I’m that guy that’s never wrong)
Lesson 2: Let loose, have fun, sing and dance, be silly, play, and enjoy yourself.
Lesson 3: You will get dirty, choose to have fun instead of being grumpy.
Lesson 4: Falling down happens, get back up and shake it off.
Lesson 5: Give hugs and kisses often and always say I love you.
Lesson 6: Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Lesson 7: Not everyone at the playground is friendly. Get over it and move on.
Lesson 8: Sometimes you just have to roll with it.
Teaching my son the basics of life principles has given me a refresher course on how I should live and act.
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It’s the little things we do every day that make the biggest difference in our happiness and mental state. I have to teach my son by example and following these simple lessons has given me more joy, less stress, and some sort of balance that I didn’t have otherwise. I couldn’t be happier as a stay-at-home dad.
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Chad Miller “Dad the Mom” is a stay-at-home dad and author of the book that helps teens succeed, Major Lessons For Minors. He also owns DadtheMom.com, which is geared towards Dads and Fatherhood. You can find and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Photos by Francisco Osorio and Dad the Mom
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Thanks for the comment! I’m so happy that fatherhood reset my emotions and reminded me of the daily little things that are so important.