10 Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Dad

Written by Co-Founder and Dad, Alec Avedissian

Just so everyone knows, I married my high school sweetheart. It was easy, she was hot, athletic, kind, and she talked to me…we fell in love. Fast forward and we now have two kids. Rae, my daughter, is three years old, and my son Merrick is almost two.

The moment Rae was born, my life changed forever. I fell in love with two women – my wife and my baby girl.  And, I became a Dad.  And then came my little man a few years later and my love grew again.  Did anyone know you could love your kids so much?

Here are 10 things I have learned in the last 3 years since becoming a Dad. I am sure I am missing a ton, but…this is a blog post and I have to get home to see the little ones before they get to bed.

10 Things I Learned Since Becoming a Dad

1.  Being tired is the new normal – my kids get up around 6 am everyday. There is no such thing as sleeping in or brunch.  So when people ask how I am doing and if I am tired, I lie to them and to myself.  I am exhausted.  But, I’ll take exhausted to hear them laugh and say “Dada” any day.

2.  Disney is the ‘ish – whoever those magicians are at Disney producing those amazing cartoons that give me 5 minutes of peace when things are breaking down need to be given an award.

3.  Single parents are heroes –  Seriously. I want to personally shake the hands of all the single parents in the world.  I don’t know how they do it all.

4.  Kids appreciate the littlest things – It takes almost nothing to make them truly happy. We should be this simple as adults. 

5. 10 minutes is a long time – I remember when we were sleep training our kids, we were told to let them cry for 10 minutes.  Are you kidding me? Try 10 minutes of your baby girl or son crying saying “dada” – good luck. 10 minutes is an eternity.

6.  I can sing – I am not saying I am good, but for some reason I love singing “You Are My Sunshine” and “Jesus Loves Me” with them every night.  It is our routine and moments I wouldn’t trade for anything.

7.  I am sucker for “Dada” - yes, I am a pushover.  My little girl will get whatever she wants.  She bats her long eyelashes and says “Dada” and I instantly melt.  And my little man usually calls me “Momma” (not sure why this is), and when “Dada” comes out, I get so excited and try to record it to prove to everyone that he does actually know who I am.

8.  I know what it means to feel helpless - kids get sick so often. I literally don’t know how.  And when your little one has a 102 degree fever or is throwing up in your hands since you can’t make it to the toilet, you don’t even care. You want to do more, but can’t.

9.  I thought I knew beauty - then I saw my daughter and son playing together on the grass in the backyard laughing uncontrollably.

10.  Moms are from heaven and my wife is 10x the person I am.