Parenting Blog

6 Little Things That Make Being a Dad The Best Job Ever

Little Bites Dad

It would be easy for me to throw open the front door each weekday morning from mid-August to mid-June and send my daughters off to the bus stop with no more effort required than an honest smile and a gentle wave of my right hand.

I don’t do this though, because I appreciate the little things in this parenting journey I’m on, things like the time spent together while driving my girls to and from school.

Here are 6 little things that make being a dad not only the best job I have ever had the privilege of holding down, but the best job ever.

6 Little Things That Make Being a Dad The Best Job Ever

1) Sleepy-eyed drives to school every weekday morning. My girls and I talk about the dreams we had during the night, the plans we have for the upcoming weekend if the weather prediction holds, and the not-quite-finished homework they’re 87% sure, fingers-crossed, isn’t actually due until tomorrow, all while we slowly wake up courtesy of the perpetual smile on the face of Sirius XM Kids Place Live AM host Absolutely Mindy that we cannot see but can feel the warmth of radiating through our Kia Sorento dashboard.

Little Bites Chocolate Party

2) Moving quietly around the kitchen, from counter to pantry to fridge, late at night after the girls have succumb to the tiredness they spent the dying hours of evening light denying providence over their minds and eyes, to make their school lunches for the following day. Mindfully, I consider what they had that day and the day before, making sure to never (okay, rarely) repeat a favorite main course — PB&J, Hummus & Pita, Cheese Sandwich on pretzel roll, hot Penne Alfredo & Broccoli in a Thermos — and include extra goodies like BBQ chips, cheese sticks (although never on cheese sandwich days, I mean, c’mon I’m a professional), fruit cups, and a perfectly pre-portioned pouch of Entenmann’s® Little Bites® muffins for something fun and sweet to make their bellies giddy and their cafeteria tablemates super jelly (that’s jealous in tween parlance). Most varieties are only 200 calories or less per pouch and contain no high fructose corn syrup. They taste great to the kids (and me), and I can feel good about giving them the baked snacks they love whether it be for lunch at school or a before bedtime snack.

3) Surprising my girls with new books from the library that I’ve carefully selected based on everything I know about what they like and look for in literature (dragons and magical adventure for the little one, cleverly retold fairy tales, non-linear plot paths, and intriguing cover art for the oldest).

4) Explaining, with a youthful passion for the subject matter, the intricate details of why that half inning of baseball unfolded the way it did, the offside rule in soccer (and the fact that it is ‘offside,’ not ‘offsides’), and the magnitude of what my beloved Detroit Red Wings accomplished over the past quarter century.

5) The fact that each of my daughters are happily building their own 7” and full-length vinyl record library of their favorite ‘grown-up’ and ‘kiddie’ albums. And the fact that they know how to carefully place those records down on the turntable, connect my fancy player to the Bluetooth speaker, and start to rock out, a dance party, or chill fest for themselves or for the whole family whenever they wish.

Little Bites Chocolate Party

6) Finally, back in the kitchen, my girls will react to their parents not feeling 100% after a long day of work by whipping up a freshly tossed salad with sweet grape tomatoes, butter lettuce, finely chopped carrots, raisins, hardboiled egg and thousand island dressing, a warm cup of English Breakfast tea for mom, and a plate of Little Bites Chocolate Party Cakes and Crumb Cakes with a requisite tall glass of cold milk for me. These little moments keep us #smilingtogether and provide lasting memories for our family.

Little Bites Crumb Cake

This story of the little things that make being a dad the best was written by me in partnership with Entenmann’s® Little Bites®. All opinions expressed above are honest and unbiased, those 6 little things make my life as a dad the best ever. And I do very much love a Little Bites Chocolate Chip Muffin because there’s no high fructose corn syrup, no trans fat, and a minimal amount of calories involved.

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