I don’t think it is as easy for guys to connect as it is for women, but I do believe that when we do make connections, ours a harder to break. Guys have a strange way of testing one another, and it only gets stranger and harder to explain as we get older. However, being a dad makes it a little easier to break through these unwritten rituals we run each other through.
Example #1: I worked with this guy and he was helping a very difficult student of mine so I initially didn’t see much of him. However, when we did, we found that we had a lot in common. I’m 6-feet tall and played football in college, and he’s 6’4″ and wrestled in college. I was already a father of 2 and he was about to have his first, but there was still something that was keeping in a professional relationship instead of an actual friendship. That missing component, for us, was our respective sense of humor.
Now, I am a really funny person because I have a friendly sarcasm. However, I can’t really get along with anyone who I can’t have a back-and-forth banter with. Turns out, we would say comments towards one another to find out if the other was either 1) a D-Bag who takes everything too seriously, or 2) someone who can take a joke and give one back. Our year consisted of cheesy jokes and pranks, inside jokes and honest conversations. I worked with him for about a year and a half, and still keep up with him I since he’s gone back to school.
Example #2: The Dads Round Table. This is a group of Dad Bloggers that I was fortunate to be added into. We had been reading, commenting on, and enjoying one anothers’ personal blogs, and someone had the great idea to create something together. I may be bias, but I think these are some of the best guys you would want to meet, and I told them that if they’re ever in my neck of the woods (Seattle) then the first beer would be on me.
Some other online dads to connect to (and I mean more than just good blogs, but good people) are:
Get To Know These Guys!
More so than good guys to connect to, these are some of my favorite personalities to interact with on Twitter or wherever. We can joke with and encourage one another, and that is what we all need, right?
I talked last year about creatinga support system, and the DadsRoundTable.com guys have given me a new outlet to challenge myself, and grow and I look forward to more in this coming year.
Manhood v. Dadhood 