Hi, I’m Gary—though depending on the day of the week, I also answer to Dad, Daddy, Dad Bear, Silly Daddy, or Yucky Daddy.
I’m a regular 9-to-5 guy living in the Midwest with my wife, our boy, and our girl. Before kids, we lived a vastly different life – we used to travel, go to concerts, explore new restaurants. After kids, life is all about the diapers and doubts.
If I had to sum up our household in a single phrase, it would be this: Individually confused, collectively exhausted.
The Shock to the System (and Why I’m Here)
Before kids, I didn’t fully grasp what “the absolute annihilation of personal time” meant. I have literally taken PTO from my day job just to go mow the lawn in absolute peace.
Everyone tells you parenting is hard, but no book, video, or well-meaning relative accurately portrays the true scale of it. It’s a wild ride of peaks and valleys. I often find myself standing in the middle of a messy room thinking, “I have no idea how I am possibly enjoying this,” while simultaneously knowing I can’t imagine life any other way. Fatherhood has forced me to discover more patience than I ever thought existed within me—even if it still feels far short of what’s actually needed on a daily basis.
I started this blog because I got tired of scrolling through Reddit looking for real-life experiences, only to run into greater-than-thou articles written by some genius with a PhD in parenting.
Let’s be honest: I am definitely not an expert at parenting, but I have gotten pretty good at faking it till I make it.
My goal here is simple. If we can’t do anything about the exhaustion, maybe we can upgrade our status from “Individually confused, collectively exhausted” to “Collectively slightly less confused, and definitely still exhausted.” If I can ease your confusion just a tad or make you laugh through the chaos, I’ve done my job.
Real Talk: The Airport Incident
To give you a taste of what life is like around here: we recently tackled the milestone of potty training. Naturally, the training happens at home, but the etiquette lessons? Those don’t seem to kick in until much later.
During a recent family trip, I returned from an airport bathroom to find my daughter waiting for me. In true toddler fashion, she decided to broadcast to the entire terminal—at maximum volume:
“Daddy, did you poo? You were gone for so long!”
If you’re looking for polished, picture-perfect parenting advice, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want to laugh at the unfiltered reality of raising kids, welcome to the club.
What You’ll Find on the Blog
When I’m not negotiating with tiny humans, I’m a tinkerer. I love jumping into home DIY projects—ranging from building my own paver patio to messing around with nerdy tech like a Raspberry Pi. I also love sports, particularly racket sports like tennis, and I hold onto a secret dream of actually getting proficient at golf (a sport I currently have zero time for).
On this blog, you can expect a mix of:
- Dad Daydreams: Lamenting and reminiscing about all the hobbies I no longer have time for.
- Life Hacks & Efficiency: Sharing practical, engineer-minded time-saving tips so we can all squeeze out an extra 10 minutes of free time when we can.
- The Trench Reports: Honest, humorous takes on the everyday absurdities of modern fatherhood.