Our March towards Father’s Day continues, and today we feature another great dad, Brent Almond. Here’s Brent’s story, in his own words:
Howdy! I’m excited to be on this list because our family is 2-for-1 when it comes to dads. My husband Nick and I have been together for almost 16 years — we had a commitment ceremony in 2003, and plan to get legally married (in Maryland) later this year. Nick (AKA “Papa”) is an attorney who works in downtown DC, and is the bacon-bringer-homer. I’m a graphic designer (http://www.DesignNut.com) who works from home and is AKA “Daddy.” We adopted Jon (got him the night he was born) from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and he’s been the light of our lives ever since. Granted he’s sometimes a glaring spotlight in the dead of night, but a light, nonetheless… I started a blog (Designer Daddy) on my son’s first birthday, where I write about pretty much anything that gets caught in the intersection of being a designer and a dad. That includes everything from cool toys and doodads I find to rants about discrimination regarding the Boy Scouts or same-sex marriage. And quite a few pics of my adorable kiddo.
My first memory as a father is… Being chosen by Jon’s birthparents. We felt like we’d won the lottery! The birthparents looked at the profiles of several potential adoptive parents, and chose us for three reasons: 1) We’re not small people, so they knew we wouldn’t be critical of the fact they weren’t either, 2) We refer to each other as “husbands” (as opposed to boyfriends or partners) even though we weren’t able to be legally married yet, and 3) I like comic books. So yeah, they liked us because we’re overweight, gay nerds. 🙂
What’s in your man cave? I guess my home office is my man cave. I’ve got a decent sized library of design books and magazines (several of which I’m in, I’m proud to say), as well as samples of all my work. Plus it’s got all my super hero crap: coffee table/anthology books, graphic novels (comics are in the basement), action figures, and my Aquaman Shrine. 🙂 Needless to say, it’s difficult to keep Jon out of the cave.
What did you get your baby’s Mama for Mother’s Day? We’re a no-Mama household, so nada. But we always go all-out for Grandma, who lives close enough we can visit or take her out to lunch. We also call Nonna (Papa’s mother), but she lives in Italy where every day is Mother’s Day. 🙂
If you and your wife husband could vacation without your kids, where would you go? The two Thanksgivings before we had Jon we rented a villa in Saint Martin with friends. We often speak of those weeks (spent laying by the pool doing nothing but eating, drinking, and smoking cigars) with great fondness…
If you could go on any vacation with your kids, where would you go? We’re hoping to go to Disney World next year. And we’re taking him to the beach for the first time this summer – I can’t WAIT to see his expression when he sees the ocean in person for the first time. I decorated his room like the ocean, so it’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. 🙂
How are you like your own dad? I like to think I’m compassionate and a good listener, like my Dad has always been.
My most traumatic parenting experience was when… We missed our son’s birth by a few hours (he was a month early, and we had to fly cross-country) but were there for his circumcision.
What sports team must your kids like? Well, my husband is from The Bronx, so our son has had Yankees garb and furniture since birth. But we live in a DC suburb, so the Nats are also a must.
What sports team can your kids never like? You mean other than the Red Sox? Well, Papa wants Jon to play football, I want him to play baseball. So I’m going to just say football in general. Head trauma is so last century.
If fatherhood was a beer drink, which type of beer drink would it be and why? Yeah, I’m changing this question, too. 🙂 A dirty vodka martini with extra olives. And how is it like fatherhood? It’s dirty, strong, and comes with a snack.
Describe your perfect Father’s Day. Because we’re a two dad family, there’s no laying around in a recliner being waited on (that happens in all mom/dad families, right?). But as long as there’s food, laughter and a nap, I’m good.
Everybody make sure you swing by Brent’s fantastic blog, Designer Daddy. Also, you can follow Brent on Facebook and Twitter.