Tiny gets away with many things. But she deserves to - here's why.
Skylar is my third child and she’s a pistol. She’s been coined with many nicknames:
Tiny
Tine (shorter for Tiny)
Ball of Energy
Ky-Ky
But one of the things that she’s known for is getting away with murder. All of my parents know what I mean by the use of this term. Let me fill you in on who’s helped me over the past year and why it’s important for you to know.
When I started my entrepreneurial journey in October 2015, I didn't know where I’d end up. I didn’t know how it’d play out but I knew one thing: I was done playing average. My journey has taken me to places that I thought I’d never ever be. No - I’m not talking about some exotic city that I’ve visited, I’m talking about being a stay-at-home dad with two girls under the age of two.
My entrepreneurial journey brought me to that point last year as of September 2017. I remember telling Michelle, this will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.
It was the truth.
Here’s the thing: I had a 6-month old baby and a 3-½ year old to take care of and I was scared. I had no idea what I was getting into with these two. Oh and don’t forget that I had a business to run. It was like I wanted the ultimate punishment.
Let me paint the picture: Daisy was a colicky baby. She hardly slept and cried a lot. She didn’t like pacifiers and had a hard time falling asleep on her own so you already know where she ended in the night. Often times she’d end up in our bed - crying.
The crying. Seriously. It’s something I will never miss. There are always people that will come to me and say things like, they grow up so fast, you’ll miss it!
Yea, no. I’m just not that guy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll miss certain things like their little voices and them calling me Daddy 1000 times but I won’t miss the messes, a dirty house, diapers, going insane, lack of sleep. Sorry. I won’t.
So I have to be honest, I had help with this stay-at-home Daddy Daycare deal. Someone that was able to help out with Daisy when she was having her crying moments. That person was Skylar. Yes, Sky - my 3-½ year old baby girl.
You’re probably wondering how a little girl could be if so much assistance? This is a great question.
Whenever Daisy would have a moment (crying), guess who would be there to console her before I could get to her - Sky.
Daisy would cry for food, Skylar would always look to hug her and make her feel better.
Daisy would have a bad poopy diaper and I’d need a new diaper and wipes, Sky would be my helper and have that stuff ready.
When Daisy needed a sippy cup, Sky would have the cup ready for me to go.
Daisy would need toys and guess who would go in the toy closet and already have a few toys ready to go? That’s right - Sky.
Since Sky was such a big helper, she often got away with a lot. I only had so much energy and I just couldn’t keep up with everything and stay sane at the same time.
There were many times I didn’t have time to make a lunch and I bought McDonalds as a treat for Skylar. There were many times we had to make a Walmart run and I ended up buying a $10-20 toy for little Sky. She’s a great salesperson too you know.
I couldn't do this without the help of my little girl. This is one of the reasons why I hate hearing the phrase Self-Made Man. There’s no such thing as self-made. Everyone needs help. Everyone needs someone to help them with the troubles that they can’t solve on their own.
Without Tiny’s help, I’d be up a creek without a paddle. I needed her. Even if I could do all of it on my own, I learned a valuable lesson: don’t ever try to do everything on your own. Even if you could.
The best way to get more done is to use the assistance of others. The problem with most people is that they use other people and they do nothing while the other person does everything.
Without Skylar, I’d lose my sanity. Daisy’s crying was enough to push me over the edge everyday. Don’t forget that I was getting little to no sleep (averaging 3-4 hours a night). I was a zombie and became extremely irritable during the day because of it.
I needed help in all kinds of ways. I couldn't work on expanding my business and watch my kids and be a good dad. Something had to give. I needed assistance and my little girl came out of nowhere to help. I often asked for help from her to get things to help me when I was at a loss and she also got what I needed without me even asking her.
Daisy is more than a handful. She’s enough to make me insane in the head. Love her - but she’s the kind of child that drains every ounce of your energy. You can never turn your back on her because she’ll be in the dog dish, in the pots and pans, in the marker bin, taking out all of the wet wipes, spraying something on herself. It’s overwhelming.
There were many valuable lessons that I learned by watching my two babies during the day from 7am to 4pm. Here’s a few:
Mother’s are severely underappreciated. I’m not going to lie, I was the typical Dad. I did the fun stuff and played with the kids and such but doing laundry, cleaning up after my kids and constantly making meals was not in my equation. I learned very quickly to appreciate my wife when she does these things - EVERYDAY.
You never know who’s willing to step up and help. I never knew that Sky would be such a big helper. It was the little things that she did that helped me to regain sanity while I was dealing with a crying baby.
You can only get more done when you have help. There’s no way I could’ve made my business work without my little helper Skylar. It would’ve been impossible I promise you. Now this doesn’t mean that I pinned all of the work on her, it’s the fact that I was willing to accept my little helper being able to help as opposed to pushing her away when I needed it. I often see parents push other adults away because they’re scared to ask for help or they think they need to be super parent. Listen, they’re no medals for Hero Parenting. I use the village. I’m not stupid. I need help.
Little Sky will always hold a very special place in my heart. She has helped me when I was at my lowest points as a dad and for that, she will always get away with a little more than everyone else.
Shhhh… don’t tell Mommy!
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