This is Daily Dadspeak—daily reflections on becoming a dad, while still growing up myself. You can find the full mini-pod audio list here.
On our walk to school this morning my kids were standing above a big puddle, looking at their reflections down in the water. I told them to hang on so I could take a picture. And afterward, they asked to see it.
They looked a little disappointed when they saw that I had only taken the bottom halves of their bodies, so the same the part that was actually reflecting back up from the water. This made me smile, because more often they’re complaining that I take too many photos of them and they’re tired of smiling.
And then it made me think about how, in day-to-day life, each of us only reflects a small part of ourselves back to the world. All of us are complex people, and we all have our own unique histories and personalities and beliefs and attitudes. And in different contexts we let different aspects of ourselves shine through.
And this made me wonder: What do I reflect back to the world? When I’m with my kids or my wife, or extended family, friends, coworkers, or even that lady in the shop—what of me do they see? Do I reflect the self that I think I do? Would I want to hear the answer to that?
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