Jeff Canzona, Creative Director at Good Day Monsters

What do you love most about being a dad?
"Being a dad is kind of like being a superhero. It’s pretty much totally awesome and amazing. But at the same time, a ton of work.  You get to throw tiny little humans up into the air and catch them and spin them around into giggling submission. And you can turn anything into anything. A tree branch becomes a paint brush, your car, a rocketship. But then, you also have to change diapers. And you can’t go out with your buddies like normal people, for your new heroic responsibilities will require some rest. They don't know about sleeping in yet. Being a Superpappy is cool, they really look up to you. It requires a bit of a character change and some flexing of the muscles of responsibility. But just like any good comic book, the good always outweighs the bad."

What is one thing about your life that has changed the most since becoming a dad?
"Probably, mostly, definitely everything. But that’s what’s glorious about it. Finding the moments when you realize that these little amazing geniuses have forever altered the way you interact with the world. Like when you look down to find your feet are painted blue as you walk across a piece of paper on the floor alongside two to tiny little yellow smushy footprints. Or when you discover it’s totally okay to hold another mini-person’s vomit in your cupped hands. It’s instinctual, you just reach out and catch it. Or when you find yourself explaining, at length, what the bladder in that Body Book is, how it functions, and that it is definitely not a penis. Totally matter of fact, like your 7th grade teacher. Not a penis."

  Any advice for dads-to-be? 
"Listen to your parents. They got this parenting stuff figured out. I mean, look, they raised you to be pretty spectacular, didn’t they?"


Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Canzona