With under a month to go until Father’s Day, we’re featuring a different great dad every single day. Up today…Chris Bernholdt!
Chris Bernholdt was an art educator for ten years in the suburbs of Chicago. He is now a stay at home dad — or “dad in charge” as he likes to call it. Being with his kids has allowed him to see them growing up at a time that he might miss if he was still teaching. He now lives outside Philadelphia with his wife Susie. When he isn’t taking care of his three children he writes about his adventures as a stay at home dad on his blog called DadNCharge and is an editor of the blog for the National At Home Dad Network.
Here is our exclusive interview with Chris:
My first memory as a father is…At the hospital, the nurses helped us greatly to ease into having a baby. He was relatively quiet at the hospital and I thought “This isn’t going to be so hard”. How I knew I really was a dad when we were driving my son home from the hospital. He had just had his circumcision and the five point harness was not sitting well with him in the car. He screamed like I have heard no baby scream before and I tried to do whatever I could to alleviate his pain. I put my hand between the seat belt and his crotch giving him a buffer and talked to him the whole way home.
The funniest thing my kids do is…They repeat words that I say and use them in different contexts. My daughters like to play “who shakes their hair the craziest?” I’m bald, but I try anyway. My two year old says “Daddy, you no win. You no have hair” I say “What happened to it?” She said “It’s broken.”
My wife is my hero because…She works incredibly hard to provide for our family. She also trusts in me to do what is best for our children day in and day out. She even finds time to help me when I am feeling overwhelmed and always knows how to make me laugh and pull me out of a rough day. She’s my best friend for all those reasons and I love her deeply.
What did you get your baby’s Mama for Mother’s Day? One thing that my wife and I will always enjoy as a gift is a night spent together. I took my wife out to a restaurant that has sushi, which I don’t really love but know that she does. Afterwards, we went to the mall and I helped her pick out some clothes for work. I love helping her pick stuff out because when she leaves in the morning, I don’t see her until dinnertime. At least I get to see her wearing some things that I picked out for her and I know if she is complimented she will say “My husband picked it out”
If you your wife could vacation without your kids, where would you go? I would want to do Europe with her. I have never been and she has. She is a much better traveler than I could ever be. She’s organized and has a clear plan for each day. She would be the ultimate guide.
How are you like your own dad? My dad is incredibly laid back and funny. He puts his heart and soul in everything he does. When he makes up his mind to do something he goes for it.
My most traumatic parenting experience was when… I tried to overdo it with my son, canoeing in a lake I was unfamiliar with. The canoe capsized and we were swamped and drifting with the wind. Luckily, the people we were staying with, realized we were gone too long and rescued us. My son was pretty young at the time so he doesn’t remember it that well, but it still haunts me today. It taught me not to force making memories. You should just let them happen instead.
What sports team must your kids like? Da Bears, Da Bulls, Da Blackhawks, Da White Sox!
What sports team can your kids never like? Being from Chicago, I have to say the Green Bay Packers. I was brought up to despise them. When my son was 9 months old, I taught him to say three things. Ditka, Sweetness, and Da Bears. I think that I have made this abundantly clear because we were out at the store the other day and he saw someone wearing a Packers hat. He looked at the guy, pointed to his hat and said “Boooo!” I said “It’s not polite to point, but you can still say Boooo.”
If fatherhood was a beer, which type of beer would it be and why? I think that fatherhood is more like a mojito. It has different elements that when mixed together can be harmonious. It is sour and sweet and the same time and yes, it can be muddled. But in the end, you are going to drink it down and enjoy it to its fullest.
Describe your perfect Father’s Day. Having the focus solely on you for one day is great but doing some activity with the family is more important to me. Gifts from the kids or a kid made breakfast is always good. Having some alone time to read or go watch a movie by myself would be ideal. Capping it off with a dinner somewhere where I can get a burger and a beer would be my ideal time.
Make sure you go and check out Chris’ fantastic DadNCharge blog. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.