I'm a Good Dad, But I Want to be a Great Dad

I think I'm a good dad, but I really want to be a great dad.

I want to be kind of dad who is the envy of all the other dads in our little corner of suburbia: The dad that calmly teaches his children valuable life lessons while doing an awesome woodworking project.

I want to be a hybrid of the 1950's Leave It to Beaver dad and Phil from Modern Family, but cool and truly involved in my kid's lives: The dad whose kids want to talk to about everything and trust me enough to tell me their deepest concerns and worst fears. 

I want to be the dad that all the mom's reference and say to their husbands, "Why can't you be more like that dad": The dad who jumps up and helps quiet the baby because he knows his wife is tired and could use a break without asking.

I want to be the really funny and fun dad: The kind of dad that throws caution to the wind and puts on a tutu for tea parties with the girls, Mr. Bear and Madame Monkey.  

I want to be the invincible, superdad of dads: The dad whose kids think he can do no wrong when they are young and secretly still do when they are older.  

I want to be the Sigmund Freud of dads: The dad who is so wise that having those "talks" with the kids will resonate so much that 10 years from now, when the time comes, my kids actually do just say NO.

I want to be the stern, but not too stern dad: The dad who isn't afraid to set boundaries and make punishments stick but doesn't actually alienate the kids.

I want to be the girl power, female empowering dad: The dad so comfortable in my own skin that when the puberty train comes rolling in, I can sit down with any of my girls and have the conversation that starts with, "So once a month all girls have this thing called…."

I want to be the open door policy dad: The dad that presents just the right balance of respect and cool, with just a hint of scary, that all of my kids friends want to hang out at our house without destroying it and yet still feel like they can confide in me if there is no one else to talk to.  

I want to be the taxi-cab, emergency service dad: That amazing dad whose kids feel comfortable enough to call in the middle of the night when their ride has had too much to drink. 

I want to be the let my kids learn from their mistakes dad: The dad who calmly reviews the bad report card, or takes the call from an angry parent, friend or colleague and supports his child without deflecting or reducing blame.

I want to be the totally engaged and engaging dad: The dad that takes an interest in his kid's interests and is not only willing but wants to sacrifice my time for our time together.

I want to be the dad that listens: The dad who really, actually listens to his kids and talks to them on the same level without being condescending no matter their age.

I want to be the open-minded dad: The dad who finds the right balance between providing advice and respecting my children's choices.

I want to be the dad who is liked and respected by my children's significant others: The dad who makes the best kind of father-in-law.

I want to be the great dad who becomes a totally incredible granddad: The dad who has the energy to play with the grandkids and doesn't bat an eye at changing a dirty diaper.

I want to be a statue erecting in effigy dad whose name is past down to generation after generation: The dad who is a symbol for all future dads to aspire to.

Okay perhaps a bit over the top with the last one. Truthfully, there are a million things that I could add to the list above which would help me become a better dad but the bottom line is: I'm already a good dad and I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to become a great dad.

This post was previously published at CarewsInSuburbia 

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