The last seven weeks were the best seven weeks of my life. Getting to spend time Biscuit every day and just learn alongside her was so amazing. During that time we learned that the 30-min rule for swimming after eating also applies to playing with dad, or there will surely be some spitting up. How to blow the most amazing spit bubbles, yes we both learned this I didn’t want her to learn alone. That walks are an essential part of a successful day. And that no matter what you have planned for your day Biscuit can throw a wrench in it at any time, so always have a change of clothes on hand. She taught me patience and attention is most of what is required to fix any problem, and if you really want to succeed, anticipate the needs of those you are caring for just like when I was waiting tables all those years ago. So much of these lessons are applicable to work and home and I am so thankful for this time I had to take a step back from things and focus on my child.

My paternity leave came to an end this week when I went back to work Friday to attend graduation, where I had 12 student ambassadors walk across the line. I was so proud of these students for their accomplishments. This was the perfect group representation of just what a community college can mean to our communities. I had every type of student from the 20-year-olds finishing their Associate of Arts and Medical Information Technology degrees to the mid-late 30-year-olds completing welding, nursing, and computer information tech degrees. They had all worked so hard to accomplish so much and most of them had above a 3.8 GPA on top of their amazing new degrees. The best part was that this was our college’s largest graduating class ever and it was, in my opinion, thanks in large part to the work that these student ambassadors did two years ago by helping others succeed and be retained to their second semester. Some of the ambassadors even made note of it as they were walking across the stage with some former mentees and now friends.

Despite loving my time celebrating with those amazing students, as soon as the night was over, I went right home to my baby girl and couldn’t wait to spend more time with her. I believe for the first time I realized how important it is to have dedicated family time and not interrupt that time without great reason. This is something that one of my mentors has told me ever since I met him, how important his family time was to him and how difficult it can be to ensure that this sacred time is not infringed upon. I still remember when he gave me his personal cell phone number and not his work number, it was a major deal and great care of that number was expected. He made a point to only use that number on the weekends and not his work cell number. That is something that he had implemented and had worked for him. It is both an honor to be included in someone’s circle like that, and also a pleasure to see such dedication to one’s family time.

The biggest thing I learned the last seven weeks is that the DADbatical doesn’t stop just because the paternity leave does. The DADbatical must become a part of my everyday life. I must set aside time for my wife and child that are non-negotiable and not allow things to interfere with my family. I don’t doubt that this will be very difficult for me at times, but I do know that it is possible and I am happy to have excellent role models that I can look up to as examples of the ongoing DADbatical.

I am sure I will write more on this in the years to come, but for now, I need to get back to being a Dad.

PS I will do a more in-depth time management piece in the future, but for now I will share the best tool I know of for staying organized. I have been using the Full Focus Planner for six months now and love it. It is an excellent way to keep first things first and be successful at work and at home.
Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt (90 Day Planner)