Becoming a dad involves making sacrifices for your kids. As a responsible adult, you’re happy to cut back on your lifestyle and vices for the sake of your children’s future. However, something dads don’t realize is that the compromises don’t stop with the kids. To maintain a happy family lifestyle, you’ll need to drop the things that isolate your partner, too. After all, no self-respecting, modern-day father should expect the mom to do all the work.
Of course, saying you’ll do it and doing are two separate issues, especially when you don’t know what perks you’re going to relinquish. Here are four that may surprise dads and dads-to-be.
Bachelor Parties
Do you remember the times when you could book a vacation from work and go away with the guys for a long weekend? Good, because you won’t be doing it for a while! People often say that dads shouldn’t want to do these sorts of things when they become parents, yet the reality is different as spending quality time with friends never gets old. Unfortunately, searching for a good criminal defense attorney after one of your besties has damaged public property does! Perhaps you’ll get to go on one again, but the chances are your bachelor partying days are behind you for now.
Exotic Cars
Petrolheads can’t help but wonder if they’ll ever come a day when a pimped out convertible will grace the garage again. And, the answer is that there might be. Never say never! For now, though, the two-seater, two-door vehicles aren’t childproof. Kids require plenty of space to play, sleep and cry whenever the mood grabs them. Plus, do you want your teen learner taking your pride and joy out on the road to spruce up motoring skills? A Porsche is too expensive and dangerous for your learner son or daughter to use as a guinea pig.
Your Dream Job
Let’s begin with a caveat: you could already be in your dream job. Alternatively, you could have a challenging and lucrative career that you wouldn’t swap for the world. Either of these scenarios is great. Still, sometimes dads ponder what could have been, and that’s when you pine for your dream role. Sadly, you currently have too many responsibilities to go back to career square one. At a certain point, dads strike the perfect balance between fulfillment and paying the bills. When you reach this point, you’ve got to maintain it for the sake of your family.
Letting Go
You didn’t say it out loud, but you made a promise when your kids were born. You promised to look out for their interests no matter the situation, and you did it for 18 years. Suddenly, however, the kids want their independence and expect you to let go as if it’s as easy as flipping a switch. Even worse, you know they are right! Letting go so that they can lead their lives is without a doubt the hardest sacrifice a dad will make in his life, yet it’s worth it to watch them grow.
What are the sacrifices you didn’t realize you had to make as a father?
