One of the things I loved as a kid was doing things with my dad. He was very much a part of the various things in mine and my sibling’s lives. There would always be these moments though where we would be doing something random or asking him a question that it seemed only he could answer. He could always do whatever we were doing and could always answer the question. Many times one of us kids would ask, “How do you know that”?
His answer. “I learned it in dad school.”
I could NEVER figure when he went to dad school. Was that a school he had gone to in the past? Was he going to a classroom taking classes like Dad 101, How to Answer Every Question Your Kid Asks 201, How to Get Your Child to Confess They Did “it” 341? There had to be a class called, “How to Find Out Everything Your Child Has Done Even When They Think Their Plan is Full-proof.” Had to be…..
Dad School.
As it turns out, I’ve been in Dad School for a little over 14 years now. Every now and then one of my kids will ask, “How do know you that?”.
My answer. Dad School.
The thing I’m learning about Dad School is that it is always in session. The classes are in no sequence. You never know when the test is happening. It is impossible to skip class. And, it’s pretty expensive….
Dad School. It is good though.
I remember in my earlier years of Dad School teaching my middle child how to shoot a basketball. He was probably 5 or 6. He stopped in the middle of what we were doing and said, “You really do know how to do everything.”
I don’t hear that much anymore….but I learned it in Dad School.
There are an infinite number of classes in Dad School such as, “The Art of Loading a Car for Vacation”, “Fixing Every Toy Even When You Don’t Really Know What’s Wrong With It”, “Easy Ways to Embarrass Your Kids in Front of their Friends”. There is the classic discipline class, “This Hurts Me More than it Hurts You.”
Right now I’m retaking “How to Raise a Kindergartener”. Not the first class I’ve had to retake. I’ve been in “Dad of a Teenage Girl” for about a year and a half. I’m also taking an elective (Are there electives in Dad School?) called “How to help your kid’s make decisions when you yourself don’t know what the right decision is.” Some of the classes get pretty tough like, “Helping Your Child Through Disappointments”, “Admitting to Your Child that You Were Wrong”, “Balancing Rescuing them and Letting them Go through Hard Things”, “Letting Your Kids See You Fail.”
Dad School. It is Tough.
It is taking me a while to figure this out but the secret to passing Dad School is not all that complicated. It’s just hard. Really Hard.
If there was a sign over the entrance of the Dad School building, it should read something like.
DAD SCHOOL: WHERE SELFISHNESS COMES TO DIE
Where selfishness comes to die sounds so harsh but in reality it is really good. As a student in Dad School I’ve learned that my joy as a dad increases as my selfishness decreases. That is definitely easier said than done. And, my selfishness decreases as I try keep these kinds of questions in front me while being a dad,
- How can I show them love in this situation in their life?
- Am I getting into their world to understand them?
- Am I more focused on what I want for them or what they need to help them grow?
- How can I walk through this and show them the love of God in the process?
- And simply put, Am I just being stupid and selfish?
I do hope my selfishness is dying.
Dad School. I do love it. Best School Ever. I have the BEST Professors.
What are you learning in Dad School?
Doug Hunt 
I love it.
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