This DADuary idea is not meant to be MY thing but something for everyone, BY everyone! I have a vision of taking the month of January, the month devoted to new beginnings and new promises and resolutions, and take some time to make sure our focus stays on the people most important… our families. As one who has been working in schools for years outside of the general population, I have seen one startling common thread, and that is the impact a dad has on their kids. It doesn’t matter if Dad is there, absent, single, engaged, SAHD, working, etc… The Dad is at the heart and soul of both of his kids. Raising kids is not a mom’s job or role. Many of us, no matter how hard we try, have learned good and bad things from our dads. Even my own dads (step and bio) have not been the best role models or examples, but I will take the month of January to celebrate the positive aspects of myself that can only be attributed to their efforts and failures.
I want DADuary to be something that is open to dads, moms, and everyone else who wants to talk about their dads, or the dads they know. If you would like to be involved Be sure to check with the Daduary Facebook page for updates, but we will be having some guest posts, and some other bloggers posting ad sharing on the Daduary page. As new events and activities become solidified, I will be posting it to the Facebook page. I hope you’ll join us.
For Bloggers- If you are interested in being a part of DADuary, please start by creating a promo post sometime after Christmas and before January with this as your prompt: ”Why should Dads get a full month to celebrate fatherhood in all its forms?” Also, there will be 2 Twitter parties. Once those are set, I will pass the information along. There will also be weekly themes to create a post about. If you want, you can ask others you know to guest post, or you can spread the word to other bloggers as well. I am not a graphic designer ( I may get one down the road sometime), so there is not official January DADuary blog badge or logo. If you want to make one and stick it on your site then feel free.
WEEK 1 Reflection Posts:
DADS: Who or what has caused you to become the type of dad you are? How has this helped you grow as a man and husband?
MOMS: In what ways is the father of your children similar or different than your own father? What qualities did your dad possess have you found in your husband?
THE REST: How has being a daughter/son, brother/sister, etc… effected the person you have become? How will the relationships with your male family members impact the person you have yet to become?
Week 2 Activity Posts:
DAD-Activity Picture Week – with MyFamilyActivities.com
Post a picture of you and your kids doing one of your favorite DAD-Activities. Pics can only be 2 months old at the oldest, so you might have to do something if it’s been a while! Also post the pics to the DADuary FB page, and make a #WordlessWednesday blog post to share with the Twitter-verse and include the #DADuary hashtag so we can all see them.
MOM-BLOGGERS- feel free to submit a picture of your hubbies doing activities with their kids.
BONUS- If you have an old photo of you and your grandpa, please include that. I think it would be great to see, because that is one relationship I completely missed out on until meeting my wife’s grandpa.
Weeks 3 and 4 are coming soon so stay tuned.
If you are planning on participating, please go to the DADuary FB page, Like it, and post an update as to how you want to be involved, and any suggestions.
Thank you all for your openness,
-JB
