This post is borrowing a format from my favorite NBA journalist Zach Lowe who is a great guy to follow and read if you like basketball. Often in his stories he includes this 10 things I like/don’t like portion which I thought I’d borrow for fatherhood. So without further ado…

1. Their smiles…there is not anything more beautiful in the world than someone you love smiling. It still gets me when my wife smiles and when my son or daughter grins my heart just melts. Nothing brightens up a rough day like a smile or laugh from your kiddo.

2. Playtime! I talked about this before, but it is so cool to be able to act like a kid again, play with awesome toys and be silly! I think adults should do this anyway but it’s more “acceptable” when you’re playing with a kid.

3. Sleep deprivation…I have never been one to go to bed early or crave a lot of sleep, but sleep and parenthood do not mix 😦 maybe when they’re teenagers I’ll feel rested again…on second thought…

4. Sleep cuddles…so awesome! First of all…they’re asleep so hurray! Second they can’t get in to trouble (hopefully) while they’re asleep so you just get to watch their precious little faces and soak up all the love and hugs and remember on hard days why they are still so wonderful.

5. The phrase “cherish every moment”. While I completely understand and to an extent agree with the sentiment, I will not be cherishing the times when my son looked straight at me and defied me by saying ‘NO’ after I asked him to do something. I will not cherish the lack of sleep and amount of worry, and I definitely won’t cherish cleaning up puke from the car seat and car. I will definitely remember them, but cherish is not the word I would use.

6. Celebrating birthdays and holidays…this has always been fun for me but now watching the excitement on their faces and seeing them achieve each new milestone is even more fun.

7. Potty training and anything related to toddlers using the potty…enough said

8. Candid moments like this…

And this…

And this…

9. Pain…thinking about the pain they will experience and knowing that they will one day experience firsthand how messed up the world is, and knowing that the best thing for them is for me not to interfere but to allow them to experience it.
10. The journey…I really enjoy the process. New experiences and new milestones…playing the same games over and over and reading that book the fifth time in a row…figuring out how to calm down after getting upset and forgive when mistakes are made…and reading about and talking with other dads about their experiences and learning as much as I can about how I can improve myself and make sure I’m the best dad I can be for both my kids.

This is fatherhood…