Father Ramblings #001: Introduction (Wonderful Father, Wonderful Husband, Wonderful Friend)

Dear Steemians,

Quick Introduction
In light of Father's Day having recently passed, I wanted to start a reel about another passion that I have had: fatherhood. To begin an introduction, I am a grateful father to two young ones: a son, who is about to turn five and his baby sister, who is not yet two. I guess in terms of Korean society, I got married pretty early on. For those who want my early opinion on whether or not to have kids early, here is my quick thirty-second elevator pitch. The big plus that you have when you have kids early is that you have the stamina to really be involved in their lives. I see a lot of my son's fathers who are in their forties that don't have the energy that they had in their twenties and thirties. The big plus that you have when you have kids later is that you have much more patience with your children. I guess the pros and cons of the stage of fatherhood is a whole lengthy topic that I will discuss in my next rambling.

Anyways, to continue with my introduction, you can see a recent photo of my kids in the top picture shared. My son is in the middle and my daughter is on the right. They were at a birthday celebration of a friend at Stage 28, a really cool place for your family to go.

Last December, I came across the following video, which really made me respect Rick Moranis. While he could have been more famous and more popular, he really had priorities that were very much aligned with my own. When I die, I want it to read on my tombstone: Wonderful father, wonderful husband, wonderful friend. Before I talk more, let me share the video with you.

Priorities
People are always talking about their network, their circle of hugely-influential friends, etc. Fresh off my success at TMON, I kept wondering about my network. Of course, there would always be perks on having a widely-acclaimed circle of friends, but being the introverted person that I was, I was never one to have this benefit. At a point in my life, I was even somewhat jealous of my close friend Dan (the ex-CEO of TMON), who always had a huge following and who was always at the center of the spotlight. Over the years, I have come to peace with what I can do well and forget the parts that I am quite lousy at. What I am comfortable with is being there for my family and my small group of friends.

SWOT - OT
When I reflect upon my youth, one aspect I am truly thankful for is that my father always catered his schedule around my schedule. As such, he would always be there for me. With the job that I have selected, I'm not sure if I can do the same with my kids, but I would love to be able to allocate most of my free time to be around with them. I'm really good at just wrestling around with them. That's me just having fun with my daughter on a net at the Stage 28 place I mentioned. They have this kid zone that my kids really love.

Now, on the flip side, my patience seems to be wafer thin. Don't know if I was always like this, but I think my tough schedule with work doesn't always allow for a lot of "me time", a time needed just for decompression and de-stressing. So, there are a lot of times when my initial intent was for me to spend quality time with my family would backfire and my emotional side would suddenly fire up. It's definitely something for me to work on and very unbecoming of me.

With this introduction, I would love to get together with a community of fathers at Steemit (or just Steemians interested in parenthood) and ping pong ideas and experiences that have led them to become a better parent.

Have a great day everyone!
Chris

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More about myself:
Steemit Introductory Post

Startup Blabber Series:
Startup Blabber #001: Communication Within a Team
Startup Blabber #002: Most Important Aspect of a Startup
Startup Blabber #003: There shall always be conflict!
Startup Blabber #004: The Hamptons Five
Startup Blabber #005: The Cap Table
Startup Blabber #006: The Importance of Feedback
Startup Blabber #007: Family
Startup Blabber #008: Taking Care of Your Health

Althea Talk Series:
Althea Talk #001: Introduction
Althea Talk #002: My Journey Into Skincare
Althea Talk #003: Inner Beauty
Althea Talk #004: Spruce Up the Office