A Dozen Questions with Dad – Me (Series Introduction)
I’ve got a new series coming where we’ll shine a little spotlight on some dads and their experiences as dads and what it’s like for them. It’s called A Dozen Questions with Dad, and it’s as simple as that – I’ve got a list of 12 questions that I’m sending out and dads will answer them and then we can share them here.
To get things started I thought it would be fair to answer the 12 questions myself. I’ll be honest, it feels a little weird because it’s almost like I’m interviewing myself – and I’ve conducted a lot of interviews over the last few years. But, I hope that my answers are fun or interesting or enlightening even to read. And I think that the answers we’re going to get from other dads are going to be even cooler.
So, here we go – welcome to the series. Stay tuned for more.
A Dozen Questions with Dad – Joshua Murray
Q1. What is your favourite curse word alternative to use around the kids?
I say shoot a lot, but that’s starting to get confusing because Ollie has started to understand basketball a little bit and has a lot of fun pretending to shoot at the hoop – and saying shoot every time he does it.
Q2. What is your favourite thing to watch with your kids? (TV, movies, YouTube, etc.)
I’ve got three answers here… 1) Toy Story 4 for a movie. 2) Bluey for a kids TV show. 3) Music videos and concert footage on YouTube.
Q3. Which kids program from your childhood do you wish was in HD and still relevant now for your kids?
I really loved Mr. Dressup and Fred Penner’s Place when I was a kid, so I guess I wish there were updated versions of those shows in a 2020 headspace to share with him.
Q4. Which fictional dad (TV, movies, books, comics, etc.) do you like to think you most resemble or would you want to resemble as a dad?
A double here – Bandit (the dad from Bluey) for the father of a young kid and the dad (Stanley Tucci) from Easy A for the dad of a teen.
Q5. What is the one toy your kids love that you wish would go missing?
Right now it’s the singing and dancing Elmo that can be pretty loud and repetitive.
Q6. Which of your hobbies/interests have you or do you hope to pass on to your kids?
I hope that I can pass some sort of love for baseball down to him. My grandpa loved baseball and my dad loved baseball and I miss them both a lot. And my mom loves baseball and was one of my coaches and biggest supporters when I played too – so it’s a family thing that I would love to be able to share with Ollie and that he’s actually into it.
Q7. Do you have a go-to meal for daddy cooks or solo daddy dinner night?
I don’t think there’s one go-to that I have with him – but right now he is into burgers, so if I make them and he wants to sit and eat a burger with me for dinner, I’m in.
Q8. Do you feel like you were sufficiently warned about how many times you’d get hit in the nuts as a dad?
No! You see America’s Funniest Home Videos and think it’s something that just happens randomly – but it happens a lot. Hard hits, glancing blows, accidents, less accidental occasions… it happens a lot!
Q9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how close is your experience as a dad to what you thought it would be before you were a dad?
5 maybe? And I admit that this question could be hard for a lot of dads to answer. You hear that you are going to love this little person more than you’ve ever loved anyone – and then you do, so you were expecting it, but the feeling of it is bigger than I expected. And you know that there are going to be hard, stressful, and even scary moments and then you have to live them. And then there are the awesome moments and as many cute videos or photos you’ve seen online – those great moments can be 1000x better than I ever imagined.
Q10. What is the most challenging thing about being a dad for you? (ie. discipline, organization, leaving to go to work, helping with school work, explaining the world. etc.)
Right now, discipline. He’s only two so teaching is mostly about him staying safe and colours and words and listening. But it’s when he’s bad or isn’t listening or whatever that I have to work hard to show and tell him that he needs to stop and be the hard dad for even a minute or two or five or whatever. I don’t like it.
Q11. Can you share a proud dad moment or memory with us?
This sounds really lame, but I think I feel most proud of him when he feels proud of himself. There are times when you can tell that something has clicked for him and he’s learned a new thing and that’s incredibly awesome to see. I’m also really proud of how sweet and kind he is when he says hi to neighbours and runs to hug me and his mama and stuff like that.
Q12. What significant yet simple piece of advice would you give to other dads or dads-to-be?
Take it one day at a time. Honestly, there’s a strong chance that every day something is going to happen that you weren’t expecting – and that can cause a lot of chaos (for a minute or for a full day). So, wake up, start the day, do you best, love your kid, and then do it again tomorrow.
