Welcome to Dad Lessons
Let's Learn Something Together
Hello, friends.
I thought I’d start this letter off with something hopeful. Today, that small, bright thing for me is the idea that I never want to be done learning. I’ve always said that the day I think I know everything will be the day that I don’t need to hang out on this planet anymore, and I stand firmly by that statement. Most days I feel like I’m sitting trapped inside an echo chamber of my own dumb thoughts. Maybe you feel that way, too. To learn is to feel thrillingly, achingly alive, and dearest readers, I want to experience everything that life has to offer. I want that very badly for all of us.
I’m into Dad culture in a huge way. Puns, jokes, raviolis. I love jokes and being goofy online and making a general fool of myself. As someone estranged from my biological family, I’m lucky to have community and friendship that supports me and my dreams. I’m only as good as the people around me. For years now I’ve had the pleasure and the honor of acting as an honorary Dad for many of you out there. And the biggest, most important part of Dad culture for me is the idea that we’re constantly evolving. Dads don’t just know; they learn and they grow.
So what does this mean in terms of “Dad Lessons” - how do I put this kind of learning into practice?
What if every week I committed to learning some small new thing? It could be anything at all - how to cook the perfect steak, what’s the best way to vet an attorney, instructions on fixing a car engine, edible plant harvesting, tattoo artistry, ASMR content creation, weight lifting, beekeeping, DIY zine preparation - if I don’t know how to do something, I’m going to get out there and learn. And I want to ask the people who know how to do these things all about why they wanted to learn that skill in the first place. What makes it so rewarding? After I get that information, I want to craft it into something beautiful for you. Information wrapped up in a bow, like a present. These letters will be funny and informative and deeply intimate and chock full of achievable goals. I want to talk about my successes (but more than that, I want to talk about my many, many failures). We can work on it all together. I want to bring that knowledge, weekly, to you. I’m ready and excited to learn new things. I want to explore the vast unknown.
And that, my friends, is Dad Lessons!
I’ll still be keeping the occasional posts free (I’m a librarian, after all), but I hope that you’ll consider subscribing so you can receive the more personalized, nuanced, paywalled content. I want to go on this journey with you. This is something new for me and I might not get it right the first time, but I’ll always try my hardest and I’m forever willing to learn from my mistakes.
Let’s learn something together.
Love,
Dad