Guest Blog - Musings From A Geeky Dad

Before I get into this I just want to mention, again, how flattering it was to be contacted out of the blue and asked to guest blog here. It's kind of affirming to have someone ask you to write on their blog, both because it means your writing is being read by someone...anyone, and it's good enough to be captivating to at least a few people.

After being contacted I had the daunting task of figuring out what the heck to write about, I'm way better at the actual act of writing than I am at figuring out where to begin. So I asked my host what she'd like me to cover in this blog post...she replied "I would say a good post for my site would be about being a "geek dad" and how it affects your parenting style/family life! What kind of geeky stuff have you introduced the kids too? How does your wife feel about your geekiness?". I've been a father for only about 9 months now, so I haven't really given much thought as to how this would affect my young daughter in the years to come.

However, I do know how it affects my wife on a day to day basis. Sure..she has caught a mild case of "geek" from me over the years. Since being together she has become quite a star wars fan, enough so that when I quote a line in regular conversation she doesn't look at me like I was just speaking Huttese. Heck, she even laughs every year when May 4th rolls around and I get all excited when I get up in the morning, come bouncing into the kitchen with a huge, stupid grin on my face, and say to her "May the Fourth Be with you" ...ok...maybe not laughs but she at least has a smile on her face while she's shaking her head and rolling her eyes at me once again. She has become a fan of Superhero movies as well, braving the opening day lines with me for such films as X-men 3, The Dark Knight, Iron Man 1 and 2, and both Transformers movies, and when we got stuck in the 3rd row from the screen for the first Transformers movie...I didn't hear one bit of complaining...I'm a lucky guy. But the idea that my geekish tendencies would be affecting a new young life in the near future? Well...that's Kinda scary.

I can already tell my Nerdish leanings will probably be a large part of her life...I've already got her started watching Warner Brothers' Cartoons and Flintstones re-runs on Teletoon Retro with me. She already has a little bit of a fixation on my Blackberry and my laptop and loves to play baby games on Fisher-Price's Website. When she gets a bit older I look forward to breaking out all my old Masters of the Universe, Star Wars, and Transformers toys for us to play with together. I anticipate one day sitting with her on a rainy Sunday afternoon while I introduce her to the Star Wars Saga, The Indiana Jones Collection, Ghostbusters and any other assortment of geekery I have around the house. I look forward to explaining to her what a Vinyl record is and show her the warmth and Beauty in every crackle pop and white noise they hold as I play the original cast recordings of the Muppets I've had since I was little (Munah Munah...do doooo do do do). I want to explain to her what every figurine, collectable, actor photograph and movie poster in my "Man Cave" is and then show her the movies they go with.

I can also tell you what I don't want. I definitely don't want my daughter to grow up thinking that "geek" is a dirty word. When I was growing up it was all about being "cool" and fitting in. Oh if I only knew then what I know now. I want her to embrace being a fan of whatever she wants and to share her passion for whatever she is into, be it the same stuff her daddy is in to or whatever else she decides to get into.(I'm already picturing the battles we'll stage between Optimus Prime and Strawberry Shortcake...it's going to be EPIC!!!)

Most of all, if there is one thing that I would consider most important, one thing I could teach my Daughter above all other things is this ...

No matter what, no matter what people say, no matter what the "norm is", don't be afraid to be yourself, no matter what that might mean, because you are the most important and perfect thing I have ever been a part of, and I love you more and more every day.

Ok...I got a little teared up right there, I'll admit it.

Shameless promotion time. I would be super psyched if you would visit my blog at Geeky Dad's Den and you can also follow me on Twitter

Once again, thank you to my host and I truly hope you enjoy my post

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU

Tags: Dad, geek, parenting

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Comment by Chris on August 11, 2010 at 10:17pm: DUDE, TOTALLY AWESOME! May the fourth will never be the same in my house! Also would like to mention that when Luke was younger I used to read him the MySQL certification study guide to help him fall asleep, and it worked!

Now that he and my daughter are a bit older they love nothing more than to flush our blackberries down the toilet (true story) and type wonderful messages into my laptop, DURING deployments (also true), while I'm not looking! I know what you are going to say, why are the kiddos up at mid-night during the deployment, right? Well, either star trek or red dwarf was on I just couldn't let them miss it!

Great post and congrats on being a GEEK DAD!

Comment by Keri on August 11, 2010 at 10:34pm: Did you two just have a "geek make-out session" on here?? LOL

But seriously, I love what you said about letting the kids just be whoever they are! They will get enough outside pressure to live up to everybody's standards. I want them to be secure knowing that "different" means you have a brain that works and you don't just follow the heard off the cliff! I hope that they will forever be creative and take chances. We would never be where we are if we didn't take the plunge a time or two!

Comment by Maura White on August 20, 2010 at 1:41pm: OMG, how is that that my husband has never said "May the Fourth be with you" before. I'm seriously putting it on my calendar for next year so I can beat him to it. "Geek" is so not a dirty word anymore!
I'm following you on twitter and put you on my RSS feed.

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Guest Blog - Musings From A Geeky Dad

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