#PayItForward: Thanks a Hundred Thousand, @DaddysinCharge

Most Fridays, I will share with you a post from another blog that I find particularly moving, interesting, or funny. They will be posts that fit the DKL mold... ones I think people who read this blog would enjoy. Another blogger I follow started something similar. I also wanted to do this because someone paid it forward to me, giving me tons of new followers. So this is the least I can do...

My birthday is August 8th. I tell you this not only because it gives you a little less than three weeks to get me something fabulous, but also because that's the date I had targeted to reach 100,000 page views. Once I saw that milestone was in my sights, I thought it would be a cool "gift" to aim for. Turns out, it happened way ahead of schedule. Like this past Tuesday:

I know this isn't really a huge deal. I mean, no lives were saved as a result of this. But you have to admit, that's pretty cool, no? Of course I had a lot of help along the way. Most recently, Mary Tyler Mom's guest post last week helped a lot. (It's on Huffington Post now. But you saw it here first!) And of course, Moms Who Drink and Swear put me on the blogging map. (Just click the link at the top of this post.) But one person in the blogosphere pushed me to take this thing to the next level. And he has helped me and supported me every step of the way.

Last spring was when I like to say I "took DKL public." Before that, I had only shared this blog with people I knew, with periodic email updates to family and friends and links on my personal Facebook page. Since we used to work together at the same television station a few years and a few hairs ago, today's honoree and I were Facebook friends. One day he told me to grow a pair and share DKL with the rest of the world. What the hell did I have to lose? So I did. And now here you all are. 

He is John Willey from Daddy's in Charge, my best friend in the blogosphere and my personal tech support. Hey, he's a photographer and I'm a producer. So it's only natural we work that way in blogging too. He's a stay-at-home dad of two great boys. His signature posts are his Lego movies. They're clever and funny and very well done. The one he did starring me and Peanut lives on this page right over there.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (And down a little.)

In the true spirit of DKL, I am sharing three posts of his here. One that made me laugh, one that made me cry, and one that me think.

First, the LAUGH. This post was just awesome in many ways. A dad catches his son in a lie and discovers a big secret. A secret that turns into a pretty proud and funny moment:

Could it be that my little Tyler has a little girlfriend? Or at the very least someone that wants to be his girlfriend? He has never once mentioned anything of the sort to us and it would completely shock me if he did. Tyler is a sweet little boy with many great qualities that any little girl would love, but he has always been into things like Star Wars and most recently Ninjago, not really things that appeal to the little girl set.

When he got home from school yesterday I went straight for his home work folder like I normally do. It was empty except for this little handwritten note. (Click here to see the love note and read the rest of this post.)

Now the CRY. When John posted a video of his son to his personal Facebook page, I saw it as a blogging opportunity for him. It showed his son swinging on the swing by himself for the first time. He was proud. I told him he should blog about it, because it's a little milestone that he found significant. I suggested he dig deep (because I'm a big know-it-all buttinski too). He did. And he nailed it. And I was going to share that post with you as my cry. Until I read this one that totally blew me away:

Time sure goes by fast huh daddy?" - My son Tyler this morning

Yeah Tyler, it sure does.

It seems just like like yesterday I was sitting outside the operating room crying hysterically both scared to death and happy all in the same moment. Scared to death that your mother was having an emergency C section but also happy because it meant that you were on your way out. I was also scared to death because my life would change forever, I was now going to be a dad, and I had no idea what that was actually going to mean. Time sure does go by fast, I remember the first night you were home from the hospital, you were crying your little eyes out and we had no idea what the problem was....  Click here to read the rest of this great post.

Finally, the THINK. This post was a rant that hit the nail on the head when it comes to how a lot of people view breastfeeding in public. (By the way, it earned him a gig at HuffPo Parents.)

Every now and then I get sucked into these online arguments over a woman's right to breastfeed in public. It really amazes me that in this day and age this sort of thing is an issue. I just don't understand how people could be so closed minded about this, it's a woman feeding her child, that's it. If it is seen as anything else, that's YOUR problem.  

(John uses actual tweets from people angry at moms breastfeeding in public. It's awesome. Read more here.)

Go follow John on Facebook and Twitter. He's funny and honest and is slowly losing his mind as a stay-at-home dad. He's also an all-around great guy who is always willing to help a blogger out. Thanks for giving me that final nudge to go public, buddy.