Buzzy, not Buddy

I'd like to introduce you to a friend of ours:

Buzzy

That's Buzzy. He has a story -- don't we all? -- that took an innocent twist today.

Before our son was born, Becky entered a give-away contest and won. A few weeks later, a box came in the mail with a stuffed giraffe and some giraffe-print baby clothes. We had already decided to go with a giraffe theme for Henry's room, so you can imagine our excitement at the surprise prize being a giraffe.

As soon as it was safe for Henry to sleep with a stuffed animal, in went the giraffe. As soon as he could walk, the giraffe was rarely outside his reach. And when the first few words came tumbling out of his mouth, "Buzz-EE" was what we heard.

Buzzy has been with us as we flew to Phoenix. He took the train with us to Denver. He's been to Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.

He's been sneezed on, sat on, and loved on.

Buzzy's story isn't unique. We all have that someone like him.

Today, as Henry and I were getting ready for nap time, we went through one of my favorite rituals: the hunting of the Buzzman. I pick Henry up and sit him on my hip. Then, we walk all around the house calling out, "BuZZy! BUUzzy!" We always end up finding him "sleeping" on the floor in some room. I drop Henry down like the crane in the claw game you've all wasted quarters on trying to satisfy your kids (or yourselves.) Henry didn't know what to think the first time I did it, but now he smiles as soon as we start and calls out, too.

What was interesting was that today, when Henry called out, what I heard wasn't "Buzzy." It was "Buuuuddy."

I put the thought aside when we spotted him on the floor. We picked him, went to Henry's room and I rocked him to sleep.

I couldn't shake it, though. Was Buzzy really Buddy?

I got to thinking about first impressions and how lasting they can be.

With school starting up in the next few days or weeks for most of us, this point doesn't need to be sugar-coated:

Be careful not to lock in first impressions. 


I'll be meeting sixty-five 11- and 12-year-olds in the next week or so. Their first impressions of me and mine of them must be malleable. It's a long school year.

As for Buzzy -- or Buddy, whoever he is -- he's safe in my son's arms. Whether I had him pegged wrong from the start doesn't matter. Henry knew right where he needed to be.

Welcome to #DadLife

Welcome to The Dad Life Blog, also known as #DadLife. The idea for #DadLife has been rolling around in my head for a while now. The phrase #DadLife is an homage to the Twitter hashtag. If you are on Twitter, search for #DadLife to see tweets written daily by fathers all over the world, chronicling what aspect of the fatherhood experience they find themselves in today.

By day (and often by night as well) I am a professional in the educational field and work in a public high school. 9 years ago I was lucky enough to marry my high school sweetheart. She and I have been blessed with 4 children. Three girls (6, 4, and 2) and one boy (2 months).

We never set out to have four kids. We had our first during our second year of marriage. We always knew we would have more than one, but four?!? It has been quite a ride thus far and there certainly is no such thing as a boring day in our home. There also is no such thing as downtime, adult hobbies, dinners for two, or floors that stay clean all day. There are fingerprints on most reflective surfaces and random toys on most horizontal surfaces in the house. Both of which my saint of a wife works diligently to keep clean. She does an outstanding job and most days our house is amazingly clean. However, I believe the kids have figured out they outnumber us and I fear they are beginning to unionize.

In all seriousness, I love my life. Fatherhood has been a trip I have found myself woefully unprepared for, but so glad I am on. In the words of singer Darryl Worley, "I love this crazy tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life." That is what #DadLife is all about. A place for dads to share the joys and burdens of fatherhood, and everything in between. There is no manual on this stuff, not that we would read it if there was , so I figure if we work together on it, (sorry, I don't have a cold beverage for you while we work) we can probably figure it out.

I hope #DadLife becomes a place for lots of people to contribute. In the days and weeks to come I will be inviting fathers that I know and respect to contribute and get our work off to a great start. To end our first post I will include the video that got me thinking about this blog several months ago. It is a great music video spoof created by Church on the Move out of Tulsa, OK. It does a great job of taking a humorous look at what #DadLife is all about.

-BD