The Irish Envy Dad Thread

[Irish#1]

Going back through this thread has been pretty cool. Amazing little community we have here sharing these stories…

My youngest just had our first grandchild and it is truly life changing. That event has even caused me to move back to the South to be near them.

I echo the sentiment to you parents of younger kids. Cherish every moment, their childhood will be gone before you know it.

Awesome my friend. It won't be long before you think, "If I knew grandkids could be so much fun, I would have had them first". lol

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

My oldest starts high school in a few weeks. It's going by way too fast.

 

[NDohio]

Congrats on the grandkid bud! Are you back in SC?

Thanks! Yes. We are in Greenville this time. I am back with the same company I was with when we met. Gonna have to do a Clemson/ND game again.

 

[NDohio]

Awesome my friend. It won't be long before you think, "If I knew grandkids could be so much fun, I would have had them first". lol

I love it! It has been amazing.

 

[FU BK]

This is what I keep telling myself during the "difficult" moments like last night when my 10 mo. old woke up at 1am and he needed to be rocked back to sleep. He's teething (cutting two at once) and has been battling some sleep regression the past week or so.

I remind myself that he will never be this little or need me quite this much again, and dads like you guys sharing these types of stories definitely keeps me grounded in the tough times. I have my whole life to sleep...having a little guy who needs me at this age is a blessing, not a burden. It's good to be reminded of that sometimes....

As a father with a 21 year old son and a 13 year old daughter (wife had ovarian cancer--reason for gap), I 1000% miss those moments. It sounds crazy, but you'll find out later its the little things like that, that you come to miss. Ill admit...I get teary eyed every time my sons car goes out of view on his way back to Purdue whenever he comes home. My daughter had respiratory issues that required 4 operations down at Riley to take care of. They told us the was a 75% chance she could pass in her sleep due to lack of oxygen intake. They gave us a monitor for the few days until her first operation that monitored chest compressions to put in her crib. It would go off 4-5 times a night, and we would have to keep her up for minimum of a half hour to get her breathing normal again before putting her back down. She had 2 operations before her 1st birthday, and after those, she could sleep normally. After that, what I thought was a pain in the ass to have to go down and rock her in the middle of the night strangely became one of my favorite things to do with all we went through.

 

[Bishop2b5]

My oldest starts high school in a few weeks. It's going by way too fast.

My youngest starts HS in a few weeks too. Has her first boyfriend. She was just 8 and we were going to the father/daughter dance a month or two ago. It absolutely goes by way too fast.

 

[ab2cmiller]

My youngest starts HS in a few weeks too. Has her first boyfriend. She was just 8 and we were going to the father/daughter dance a month or two ago. It absolutely goes by way too fast.

My first “oh crap” moment came when my oldest turned 8. I immediately thought to myself that those first 8 flew by.

I then started doing the math. Another 8 she would have her license and another 8 she would probably be married.

 

[Irish#1]

Tiago…..Just took out the breathing tube and moved him from ICU4 to ICU1 with his sister.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

My first “oh crap” moment came when my oldest turned 8. I immediately thought to myself that those first 8 flew by.

I then started doing the math. Another 8 she would have her license and another 8 she would probably be married.

I did the same thing when my twins turned 8 last fall. Now my 4 year old is starting pre-k in couple weeks..........

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

When my oldest turned 9 a few years ago, we realized he was halfway to being 18 and out of the house. That was the first time I thought this won't last forever.

 

[IrishLion]

I got really bummed out the other day... when I think of my childhood and some of my favorite times, the one thing I always come back to was a vacation to New Jersey with my dad's side of the family. It was my 7th birthday while we were there.

Idk what it was, but it must have been when I started to really become aware of the world around me. I played paddle ball with my godfather on the beach all week, and he made me feel like a champion. My uncle from California, who I didn't get to see a whole lot, built this amazing "Bat Cave" sandcastle with me to go with the Batmobile toy I got for my bday, then built a skeeball cabinet out of sand the next day. I got to swim in giant East Coast waves with my dad, and got to see all the amazing boardwalk sights for the first time with everyone. I got up super early one day to try and catch the sunrise with my aunt, and we found my uncle outside, already awake, smoking a cig, drinking a coffee, and running the American flag up the flag pole. It was a defining vacation for me, one that set the standard for my childhood, even though I didn't know it yet.

Looking back, I realize everyone was 100% bought in to having as good a time as possible, because the vacation was at their childhood vacation spot, at their grandparents' house where they would spend almost every summer as kids. They were all reliving the summers they had, and the things they learned to have fun, and I got to benefit from that.

Fast-forward to 2023, my son is turning 7 at the same time my wife has a trip to DC for a new job. My wife and I take my son, while the girls stay home. My wife actually had a full schedule for new job stuff, so it was mostly just me and my son, exploring DC for three days. We saw the sights, we walked around, we got breakfast at the same place two out of three days downtown (my son insisted, because he liked it, rather than trying something new lol), we went to the children's museum, went to the big park near the Washington Monument to watch all the young professionals play kickball and softball, and then on his birthday, I let him pick the day. We bought an Allen Iverson jersey for him at the Georgetown bookstore, then we went to a riverfront bar/arcade and played games for a couple of hours, no money or time limits, just played until he was done. Then we went to lunch at his favorite place: Chick-fil-A, but in DC's Chinatown area lol. Then he decided we should go see a movie to finish the afternoon, so we went across the street to watch the newest TMNT movie. We picked up my wife, saw some more sights, then got dinner at a nice place by the hotel. We ended the night by grabbing drinks and junk food from 7 Eleven to take back to our room, then watched TV until everyone fell asleep.

I had a fucking BLAST with my guy... but after taking the kids to New Jersey this year as a family with my dad, my son about to turn 9, I thought about my trip to Jersey when I turned 7, and then realized I never made the connection about our trip to DC when MY son turned 7. Then I felt like there was a big hole in my chest, wondering if I made that trip special enough. I know how much the vacation when I turned 7 had an impression on me, so I can only hope I was able to do the same for my son. If I would have realized it at the time, I would have tried to soak everything in even more than I already did.

Time is a thief, and I hate it. I wish my kids could be kids forever.

My middle will turn 7 next summer... I'm pulling out all the stops for her lol

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

As a father with a 21 year old son and a 13 year old daughter (wife had ovarian cancer--reason for gap), I 1000% miss those moments. It sounds crazy, but you'll find out later its the little things like that, that you come to miss. Ill admit...I get teary eyed every time my sons car goes out of view on his way back to Purdue whenever he comes home. My daughter had respiratory issues that required 4 operations down at Riley to take care of. They told us the was a 75% chance she could pass in her sleep due to lack of oxygen intake. They gave us a monitor for the few days until her first operation that monitored chest compressions to put in her crib. It would go off 4-5 times a night, and we would have to keep her up for minimum of a half hour to get her breathing normal again before putting her back down. She had 2 operations before her 1st birthday, and after those, she could sleep normally. After that, what I thought was a pain in the ass to have to go down and rock her in the middle of the night strangely became one of my favorite things to do with all we went through.

Man, I couldn't even imagine going through that with an infant. Thank you for sharing that amazing story about your strong daughter. I'm glad to hear she made it through okay!

And honestly, it doesn't sound crazy at all. I know I'll probably see my son driving off to college after a visit and think back to how fast it went and how I wish I could hold him again as a baby. Lack of sleep can be frustrating for anybody, but I wouldn't trade being a dad for anything.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I had a fucking BLAST with my guy... but after taking the kids to New Jersey this year as a family with my dad, my son about to turn 9, I thought about my trip to Jersey when I turned 7, and then realized I never made the connection about our trip to DC when MY son turned 7. Then I felt like there was a big hole in my chest, wondering if I made that trip special enough. I know how much the vacation when I turned 7 had an impression on me, so I can only hope I was able to do the same for my son. If I would have realized it at the time, I would have tried to soak everything in even more than I already did.

Time is a thief, and I hate it. I wish my kids could be kids forever.

My middle will turn 7 next summer... I'm pulling out all the stops for her lol

That honestly sounds like a fun filled, action packed day for any kid. I'm sure you crushed it, even if it didn't have the same sense of nostalgia that NJ had for you and your relatives. You probably just made DC your kid's favorite spot, and he'll remember it fondly for how much fun he had with his family and especially his day alone with Dad. Maybe he'll tell his friends about it every time he hears "Washington DC" or "The Capital" in Social Studies in school, and one day he'll take his son or daughter there and spoil them in our Nation's Capital.

All we can do is be there for them every day, sounds like you gave him a helluva good day!

 

[Irish#1]

 

[Irish#1]

 

[HouseofPain]

Packing up today and about to go get the moving truck to take my one and only kiddo off to college. It is going to be so different without her around the house.

As a dad you can only hope that they listened and will take what wisdom you gave with them.

 

[GATTACA!]

Can’t wait!!

Our daughter is 100% a mommas girl. I told the wife our son is mine! Don’t even think about it! Haha

 

[rikkitikki08]

Can’t wait!!

Our daughter is 100% a mommas girl. I told the wife our son is mine! Don’t even think about it! Haha

Ohh man just you wait, once my boy started walking he was attached at my hip. Now he’s 4 and runs upto me and farts on me. Its the best

 

[ab2cmiller]

Ohh man just you wait, once my boy started walking he was attached at my hip. Now he’s 4 and runs upto me and farts on me. Its the best

At that age I taught my boy that when you fart, there's a 95% chance Mom will look at you and ask you "What do you say?". When she does, you just tell her "That was a good one".

First time it happened, my wife gave me the death stare and I knew I had been had.

 

[dublinirish]

 

[GrangerIrish24]

At that age I taught my boy that when you fart, there's a 95% chance Mom will look at you and ask you "What do you say?". When she does, you just tell her "That was a good one".

First time it happened, my wife gave me the death stare and I knew I had been had.

My 4 year old is the phase of every other thing he says pertains to farts and poop. He laughs, I laugh, mom yells at me.

 

[Bishop2b5]

One of my proudest dad moments:

My 14-year-old daughter is usually hilarious and takes a lot of pride in being so and often targets her mom with her wit. One night my wife called me at work to tell me that the girl had been trolling her and she'd yelled at her, "You're not funny!" to which my daughter had calmly replied, "You're not who I was trying to amuse with that." My girl! 🥰😁

 

[ulukinatme]

Great reminder I came across on Instagram yesterday too. Absolutely going to read this book with a 4 year old and 2.5 year old in my house.

“For 10 years, you are your child’s favorite person in the entire world. And then after that, children have other favorite people…”

That's definitely a powerful message. I'll have to check out that book as well. Thanks for the recommendation!

What he says is absolutely true. Since my daughter got to middle school she's been busy with band, I don't see her nearly as much as she's always busy with stuff. She starts high school this month, feels like I was just dropping her off for 3rd grade. I'm trying to make memories while I can, but it's going too damn fast. I know I've basically got 4 more years and much of that will already be dedicated to school and her activities/friends.

 

[ulukinatme]

Been awhile since I've added my own here. 2 years ago my son had a complete break of both bones in his forearm when his Peewee team was scrimmaging the grade above them. He was going against a kid that's even bigger than he was, and my son is not tiny by any means. Until now he's been the biggest kid on his team, 165 lbs as an 11 year old. He's been building muscle this year, going to the gym and lifting with me. Anyway, he's always been kind of a gentle giant, and that arm break 2 years ago didn't help. He's been a bit afraid to go against kids bigger than him, even if it rarely happens.

Fast forward to today, first day of hitting in 5th grade Peewee. He has a new kid on his team, and the new blood is basically a clone of the older kid that broke him arm in that scrimmage two years ago. This other 11 year old kid is OVER 200 LBS! He's a monster, he's slow, but massive. My son obviously was hesitant to go against him, but I assured him he's got the kid beat in speed and he's put the work in lifting during the off season. We worked on staying low while blocking and coming out of his stance quickly. During practice today he had to go 1 on 1 in blocking drills with this monster kid. They stalemated a few times, but more often than not my son was actually driving this big kid back while his teammates were cheering his name. It was such a cool moment, I was proud to see him overcome the fear and put all his hard work to good use.

This was the break 2 years ago:

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

My daughter turned 3 this week, my son turns 2 next month, and I have no clue what happened since 8/7/22. It really does fly by.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Kids don't make time go faster, they make you realize that it's passed.

 

[IrishBryan77]

No fuck trophies here!....at least that I know of. 🙄🤣

Time is going nice and slow.

 

[rikkitikki08]

No fuck trophies here!....at least that I know of. 🙄🤣

Time is going nice and slow.

Congrats?

 

[Fbolt]

I've said it before and abstained when folks get married....

Kids are the absolute best and that love lasts forever. My soft spot!!

Wives come and go.

 

[Fbolt]

What he says is absolutely true. Since my daughter got to middle school she's been busy with band, I don't see her nearly as much as she's always busy with stuff. She starts high school this month, feels like I was just dropping her off for 3rd grade. I'm trying to make memories while I can, but it's going too damn fast. I know I've basically got 4 more years and much of that will already be dedicated to school and her activities/friends.

Speaking of wit. I remember my youngest, a smaller guy back when he was like 6 y/o, would be walking next to me and as I eventually pulled away I would say, "Catch up". His response, "Mustard".