It’s A Brand-New Dad2!
Fatherhood on Friday: It’s Friday the 13th, but we’re feeling lucky. Our new “dad2.com” URL might not seem all that brand-new, but we’re particularly intentional about our new brand.
If you’re burdened with friggatriskaidekaphobia, you might want to take today off. Not only is it Friday the 13th, but 2019’s only other Friday the 13th was in September, exactly 13 weeks ago. If this news freaks you out, please feel free to withdraw into your doomsday bunker and get fetal until morning.
If you’re wondering why Westerners get so wigged out by Friday the 13th, you can probe a number of interesting theories (like how Judas and Loki crashed their dinner parties). But we are optimists. We view 13 as the extra doughnut in a baker’s dozen. And our news this week has us feeling pretty friggin’ lucky.
First, we’ve learned that over 2 million government workers are poised to receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave! Congress still has some wrangling to do, but since the bill also funds the president’s Space Force initiative, optimism for passage of this monumental milestone is gaining momentum.
On Thursday, we announced six new Miller Grant recipients for the 2020 Summit, bringing the membership in this fraternity to 63 in just six years! We’re grateful to everyone who has donated their time, money, and/or encouragement to keep the spirit of this fund flourishing.
And the biggest deal? Our new name, a new URL, and a new outlook. From now on, we’re going to be known simply Dad 2.0, and you can access everything we’re about at dad2.com. It might not seem all that brand new, but we’re particularly intentional about our new brand. Because we’re evolving from the conference that happens once a year to the year-round global effort to discuss and define modern fatherhood that also has a conference once a year.
Even though we can point to a lot of accomplishments in the 2010s (more about that next week), there’s still a lot of work to do in the 2020s. Thanks to all of you who are using your “dadfluence”to do it.
IN THE NEWS
A father and son have a lot to talk about on their 10-day road trip from Boston to Iowa. Calvin Hennick’s memoir is receiving a lot of accolades, and it’s on our wish list.
Christmas came early for Jaxon and Jase Taylor, when Santa was able to pull a few strings, and bring their father home early from his eight-month deployment.
After the birth of his third daughter, Ryan Reynolds says it’s harder than ever to leave the house.
As women pursue military careers in growing numbers, their husbands are redefining what it means to be a military spouse.
Comedian Dave Elliott made this great short film about when you think you’ve got this fatherhood thing down, but you kinda don’t yet.
UNICEF’s executive director says: “We have to ask more of governments and more of employers if we’re going to give fathers the time and resources they need to nurture their children.”
It takes him about a week to make his house rival the one in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation , but remembering his dad and spreading the joy to others makes it worthwhile.
If you’re taking an undue interest in policing your daughter’s life and relationships, you might tell yourself it’s for her protection. But it’s more likely for control.
Every generation has felt concerned for the future, but deciding not to have children because you fear the future is “ to misunderstand what it means to be human.”
PORCHLIGHT POSTS
“While it seems to have become more acceptable for women to have a ‘baby gap’ on their resume, it’s less so for men.” — Guy Patton, I’m a Stay-at-Home Dad Trying To Get Back Into the Workforce, and I See Why Moms Say It’s So Hard
“A lot of kids who are LGBTQ+ have very high rates of attempted suicide, and our child knew he could come to us and tell us what he was going through. So we did something right.” — Al Watts on the NOMADad podcast, Fatherhood Has Many Curves
“To a child, ‘Why can’t you just be normal?’ from a parent is the same as hearing, ‘You are not good enough for me.’” — Jason Reynolds, Facebook post
“You’re not solving complex problems. Instead, I’m trying to convince my daughter not to eat conditioner, or cat food, or butterflies.” — Taylor Calmus, Being A Stay-At-Home Parent Is …
“Imagine how much more awkward it would have been had she responded by saying something to the effect of ‘sounds exciting, let’s do it before your wife gets home.’” — Dave Cutler, That Time I Tried To Venmo the Babysitter
‘GRAM OF THE WEEK
Do you receive the Dad 2.0 Summit Newsletter? You should! In it we share all kinds of information and news about the Dad 2.0 Summit. Add it to your inbox! It’s the perfect way to start planning for our ninth summit, coming to Washington D.C. in 2020!
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Originally published at https://dad2.com on December 13, 2019.
