7 Things That I Should Have Done Before Becoming A Dad

Nice Picture photo by tmatos 

Everything changes when you become a parent. Your days of throwing caution to the wind and your que sera sera attitude is over. When you become a parent, you become a caretaker of life or lives as in my case. Therefore, your selfish ways have to end and your selfless acts begin.

While I do not regret being a parent, there are things that I wish I had done before becoming one. Most of the things I wanted to do involved risks, risks that are too great to take as a life caretaker. And since now that I cannot do the things I wanted to do before I became a Daddy, I am going to enumerate them here in my blog and hopefully when my children are all grown up, I can revisit this list and finally fulfill my youthful dreams.

1. Go Around the World in One Year. I may not be able to do this now, but I’m sure I will be able to in the future. Think about it. I have 5 children, which means I have 5 chances of having one of them fund my travel adventures. When I finally do this, the first place I’m going to visit is Europe. I will leisurely drive around Europe and when I’m tired of driving, I’m going to ride the train.

2. Drive a motorcycle. Yes, it’s true. I have never driven a motorcycle. I’ve ridden but never driven one. I could probably do this now if I act selfishly but my wife threatened divorce if I do. So this idea will be shelved until a time comes when I will be permitted to buy and drive a motorcycle.

3. Learn how to play the guitar or the piano. It was definitely possible for me to learn how to play an instrument while being a parent. Unfortunately, time and money became my enemy. There was never enough time and never enough money to spoil myself with a luxury such as this one.

4. Get my Ph.D. in Literature. My hats off to those people who accomplished this while being a parent. I worked on my Masters while being a dad and working full-time. It was no picnic. I will eventually get this one too because it will be my retirement plan. With my PhD, I will park my old ass to a University and talk about books and more books.

5.  Running with the Bulls in Pamplona Spain. I’m a big fan of Hemingway. And his romantic description of bullfighting and running with the bulls has always captivated me. I’ve dreamed of out witting the bulls many times before and have seen myself victoriously celebrating at the end of the run.

6.  Bungee Jumping. God I would love to do this but every time I talk about doing it Smiley Face always says, “Daddy, you’ll hurt yourself.” End of discussion!

7. Get my Pilot License. I was a physical exam away from attending the Air Force Academy but things happened and I was unable to go. And as the year progressed, this dream kept being pushed aside. This is definitely a must do before I die thing.

Surprisingly, my list is not extensive. The reason for such a short list is that I’ve been fortunate to have accomplished or received the majority of the things that I want in life.

This list is by no means an indication of an unfulfilled life. This list, if accomplished, will be an icing on the cake. My life cake is already baked and it is delicious and ready to be eaten. But if I wait a little while, I can put more frosting on it and it would be even more satisfying. And of course, the best part of my life cake is that I have 6 wonderful people to share it with.

What about you? Have you ever dreamed of doing things but you had to put them off because life happened?

Posted May 29, 2008 by Wat Da Daddy | Digg | Stumble | 22 Wat Da Comments

  1. RC Said,

    Maybe it is good that your kids are keeping you from being impaled by a bull?

    As for guitar and piano - have the kids take lessons and just sit down with them and join! Two for one.

    My coworkers and I just discussed this yesterday, as I mentioned I have to see a doctor regarding some issues I may have from stupidity in my youth. Concerns about my health never used to scare me, but now they do. I have a young man I intend to be around to raise and annoy, for a long time.

    And, since one of my careers involves firefighting, I frequently am more concerned about the dangers I may encounter.

  1. Vered Said,

    We don’t fully realize how kids take over our lives until we have them.

    For me it’s mostly travel. I love to travel, and although we still do, I would love to live in different places for short times (a couple years in Europe, a couple of years in Australia etc.) and this is just not something that I would do now that I have kids.

    Vereds last blog post..The Sleazy Ads of Google Adsense

  1. Overwhelmed With Joy! Said,

    Great list!

    Since my husband and I didn’t become parents until we were in our mid-30’s, we got to do many of these types of things ahead of time. We’re thankful for that.

    Still, I wouldn’t mind going back to school for a Masters and traveling more over in Europe (I’ve been to Europe twice and loved it).

    Overwhelmed With Joy!s last blog post..Let me see a show of hands, who’s going to see this movie?

  1. Sandy (Momisodes) Said,

    I can relate to this post so well. I think I would add most of those things to my own list (minus all things high up in the air). However, most of all, I wish I had traveled more since traveling with children can be such a pain!

    Sandy (Momisodes)s last blog post..I Don’t Understand It Myself

  1. Tara R. Said,

    Isn’t the best part of the cake the icing? Great list!

    Tara R.s last blog post..My life, The Movie

  1. Chris Austria Said,

    @RC–Tagging a long on piano and guitar lessons is a great idea.

    @Vere and Sandy–I love to travel also but traveling with children is a big pain. Sometimes I would travel without the family and I would miss them terribly so I stopped doing it. Now when my wife and I travel, we try to bring at least one of the rugrats with us.

    @Overwhelmed with Joy–It’s great that you were able to do the things you wanted to do before becomming a parent. I think about that sometimes…

  1. Lora Said,

    I have to agree. I became a parent at 20, so I didn’t have a chance to do some of the things my DH and I had talked about doing, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, rock climbing, traveling, etc. The silver lining, though, is that I’ll only be 40-something when all the kids become adults, so I’ll still be young enough to try some of those things!

    Loras last blog post..

  1. Joanna (really) Said,

    Haha. Que sera sera. You know what’s a good way to reach that bungee jumping goal? Convince Mama that it’s a good family activity.

    Or, we all travel to Spain and I will definitely cover for you when you run with the bulls, as long as I get to see you run like a mad man. Just make sure you don’t get impaled and end up on TV where Mama can see you.

    Yeah! Get a motorcycle so we can drive it to and you can’t tell us not to because you drive it too. Hah.

  1. Marelisa Said,

    You know, I have a squidoo lens that’s called 100 things to do before you die - create your bucket list (if you’re interested the url is http://www.squidoo.com/100things). I have about a million things I want to do, but high up on my list are scuba diving and jumping out of a plane (with a parachute, of course). Who knows, maybe one of your kids will decide to go bungee jumping and you can with them :-)
    Marelisas last blog post..Awakening the Warrior

  1. Chris Austria Said,

    @Lora–When our youngest becomes 20 i will be 50 years old. My oldest now is 20 so we still have time.

    @Marelisa–My children are game for anything.

    @Joanna (The Family Genius)—sssssssshhhhhhh. Not so loud, Mama will hear us. We will definitely make it to Spain in the near future.

  1. Storm Said,

    i am not so sure about running with the bulls — now or then….kids or none….

    love the list.

    you are a great dad! you are putting the love, care and responsibilities of your family above your need to try and experience new things which would either put you at risk or take you away from them.

    storm

    Storms last blog post..my latest life lessons

  1. Barbara Swafford Said,

    Hi Chris,

    The ride a motorcycle made me laugh. My husband was talking about buying one, I convinced him to rent one first to see if he would really like it, and use it.

    I used to want to go sky diving (when I was in my 20’s). As the years passed I lost my desire.

    I would like to travel more, but not necessarily abroad. I have seen a lot of the US and would like to see more. I enjoy road trips.

    Barbara Swaffords last blog post..Blogs - The New Electronic Paper Trail

  1. Melanie Said,

    Well, I can play the piano and I’ve done the bungee jumping.

    But I can’t really think of anything I want to do- probably travel more. Yup, definitely travel more.

    Melanies last blog post..Thursday Thirteen #15

  1. Toni Said,

    The other night for the first time since I was old enough not to have to, I wore a life jacket on our ski boat. Before Hunter was born this would not have occured to me. But I knew if something happened I needed to do what I could to survive for him.

    Great post!

    Tonis last blog post..onions

  1. Bruno Said,

    Chris - we are aligned today :)
    Enjoy your Friday!

  1. Dette Said,

    Ooh… we have a lot of the same interests. Tho I must confess, I wanted to do bungee jumping right after I finished nursing my youngest, but the Hubz said I’d be free to do so only after the youngest turned 18. aaargh

    Dettes last blog post..Mad About Kids

  1. Katy Said,

    Oh to be young again! All on the list are possible for you to do later, maybe except bungee jumping. That’ll really hurt your back!
    I want to learn another language. I could do that now, but I think I’ve gotten too comfortable using parenting as an excuse… :)
    Katys last blog post..When it’s good to cry

  1. Melynn Said,

    My husband and I are planning to have our 2nd baby by next year. I told him, I should do a lot of travelling now before I get pregnant again. Been touring a lot of the Philippines in the past eight months. For those eight months, I have done 5 out of town trips already and counting. Well, I don’t plan to stop yet even if we have 3 kids or even 5. I bet we’ll take them to different places too.

    I have made my bucket list a few months ago. I can say that it makes me feel alive. I have never been this adventurous in my life. Some of it includes bungee-jumping, go white water rafting (which i’ll do in a few months) and skydiving. Hope I can do all these. I hope to still be game even when I turn into my 40s. lol..

  1. Pinoy Around the World Said,

    I hope being gorged by a bull is not one of your dream activities - lol!

  1. Jonathan B. Said,

    Good list, although I’m not so sure about that whole running with the bulls thing. Not for me! :D

    I recently learned how to play the piano, although I’m no expert by any means. I didn’t realize it would be so much fun. It’s a challenge but it’s very rewarding too.

    One day I plan on skydiving. Just once. It should be amazing.

    Jonathan B.s last blog post..I don’t normally do these…

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