Welcome to The Daddy Games

October 31, 2012

The Roster

Wife, age unknown

Son, 4 - Force of nature, speaks, sees, and hears with his hands

Daughter, 3 - Salt of the earth, always hungry

Daughter, 10 months - Must be heard, over-confident that she is driving the mini-van with her index finger

For years, I have been thinking about it.

My publisher, for my first book, The Game from Where I Stand, Times Books, told me that I needed to get social. I needed Facebook, I needed to tweet. I knew very little about either. In fact, our household was almost protesting the concept, but I knew I had to relent.

So I put my face in a "book" then I learned to tweet like a bird, and I have long come to appreciate the value and the fun.

Shortly thereafter, I also came to understand that parenting is living twitter in HD.  In my case, we have three kids under five years old, at one point sporting the trifecta. Pre-schooler, toddler, and infant. It was not for the faint of heart.

The Daddy Games is a celebration of this reality through the voice of a Dad. I wanted to express the endless transition of leaving major league baseball and all its glory to share the inner workings of being a father of many, as I tag team it with my wife. The two worlds can be a stark contrast, but in subtle and sometime beautiful moments, it all converges.

Of course, it is important to understand my premise. So here is my starting lineup. Let's focus on a toddler for now. But this applies to any age, any time.

Why is Twitter like a Toddler?

1. Instant Gratification - A toddler cannot wait - say no more
2. An assumption that the world is listening - Toddlers are confident that you and everyone else is in tune with their every whim. They just have to post it.
3. Anyone they come in contact with will want to follow them - Toddlers pick up people (animals, toys, sticks, and maybe shards of glass if you turn your back) along the way that either they expect to become their followers or that they will want to follow.
4. Non-living beings can tweet - Corporations, companies, you name it,  also have Twitter accounts, so why can't Dora the Explorer, Elmo, or Buzz Lightyear?
5. Re-tweeting - If you happen to have more than one toddler or child, everything the older one is doing is getting "re-tweeted" by the younger one. And viceversa. Or it could be simply coming from a neighbor's child, classmate, or a cousin.
6. Never turns off - Anyone with toddlers knows that you are a grandparents' visit away from having to undo a lot of things, including middle of the night wake-ups expecting ice cream. Or my favorite request, dessert after breakfast. But what would we do without Granny?
7. They can hashtag "non-words." - The hashtag allows a toddler to string together words in any way shape or form and have full confidence they are meaningful and in the dictionary.
8. I can block you - If a parent says something toddlers don't like, they can just block it, and act like it never was posted.
9. Secondary accounts - When toddlers do not like what you are posting, they can start another account and use that one until you find out.

The Daddy Games will be a cornucopia of random Daddy experiences. A twitter thread turned run-on essay. It will breakdown everything from playdates, to speed diaper changing, to the many ways an adverb can be misappropriated. I am just writing as it comes, unedited, and redirecting the fact that parenting is infinite and a break is a figment of my imagination.

Of course, being a father has many rewards, those sobering moments when you say "this is why being a Dad is magical." I have seen my son help another child up the stairs, or my daughter take her first hack with a baseball bat, or just the power of watching a baby take her first steps. It dwarves a walk-off homerun or a diving catch in centerfield, and that says a lot given how much I loved being able to play baseball for a living.

So here we go. Ride with me. Let me take you from the locker room to the play room through the eyes of a father who knows baseball and how much it matters when you are just trying to be the best parent you can be.

Let the games begin.

- Doug Glanville