About Me

Babble.com's Top 50 Dad Blogs of 2011!I'm a 32-year-old father and husband born and bred in Massachusetts. I have a beautiful son named Will, a gorgeous wife named MJ who is far too hot to have married me, a dog I love and two cats I put up with. I'm a smart-ass former newspaper reporter with a penchant for turning a phrase, who decided to go corporate and is now enjoying life as a content manager for a website.

This blog is not just another "daddy blog." Sure I write about my son, but these pages are a record of my life. I don't just highlight the fun milestones like first steps, I also chronicle the "other stuff." The fights, the torment and the doubt that inevitably come with being a husband and father. It's not always puppy dogs and rainbows, but it is very real. And often there is beauty in the sadness, redemption in the struggle.

Thank you for checking me out, giving me a try and sticking around for the journey. If you'd like to contact me you can email aaron_gouveia (at) yahoo (dot) com.

“Daddy, Why Do You Have to Go to Work?”

I was really stressing about working so much and worried I wasn’t being a good dad. My wife just stood there with a smirk on her face, wearing the all-too-familiar look that tells me she knows something I don’t. As you can imagine, it’s a look I’m well accustomed to at this point. When I asked her what her deal was, she hit me with something completely unexpected. “He’s playing you,” she said. [...]

January 4th, 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized | 4 comments

Found Treasures, Future Letters and Advice From the Past

Even before Will was born I wondered what he’d look like, how he’d act as a toddler, taking him to Fenway & Gillette for the first time and how he’d act as a precocious teenager. But then I stopped because I remembered my own teen years and the mere thought of being on the other end of that hot mess scared the holy hell out of me. So I decided in that moment to write a letter to future Will, eight years from now on his 12th birthday, which I’ll keep and hopefully read in the future when I’m ready to tear my hair out. [...]

December 14th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized | One comment

Forget the Hype, Revel in the Moment

Pregnancy is a fun, weird, trying and wonderful time. Sure it’s worthwhile to buy a few books and read up on what to expect, but it’s also fun to experience the unexpected. To ignore all the hype and just experience things for yourself without it being ruined by the ruminations of the grizzled veterans of the parenting trenches. [...]

November 7th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized | 18 comments

The Mother of All Hoarders

I’m sure you’ve all seen or heard of A&E’s TV show Hoarders. People who feel the need to collect everything in their homes and never, EVER throw anything away. Now before I go any further, I want to say I understand this is a serious condition. Also, my mom is not a hoarder. Well, she’s not a full-fledged hoarder. I guess you could say she hoards as a hobby. [...]

October 3rd, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized | 10 comments

When Death Comes for Your Child

No matter how this turns out, Leah will never be forgotten. Her character and spirit in the face of adversity will always be remembered. And when I lecture my son about the kind of person he should aim to be, I will tell him about Leah. And Peter, Rhiannon and Lukas. And I will hope he turns out half as amazing as them. [...]

July 22nd, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized | 20 comments
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