My trip to Dad 2.0 in NOLA

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Let me start by saying how awe-struck and humbled I was to be around so many great-and-involved dads (and moms) at Dad 2.0. It wasn’t just the fact that they have such great site, or that they didn’t just talk about being an involved parents; they backed it up by actions.

It didn’t stop there. I can honestly say that each of them is an awesome example of a great human being.

It was like going to Comic-Con, being a huge fan-boy, living in a total, geekery, nerdy nirvana of awesome. The only problem with that picture is that all those object of my fan-boy love reciprocated that feeling.

No one was really larger then life, no matter what the size of their audience or fan base. We were all equals, and we all seemed to have a pretty-healthy appreciation for each other’s work.

I have spoke with many of these people online for the past year. I’ve gotten to know their online presence pretty well, and I found myself hoping that–with the in-real-life (IRL) meeting–that I wouldn’t totally dislike them. Ya know how it is, when you meet someone and they are so unlike how they appeared to be on the interwebs.

But, even that hesitation (or fear?) was unfounded. It was total awesome-sauce. These people were so full of personality! Instead of turning “flat,” I suddenly discovered the full-HD, 3-D. In the one-dimension of text, something is lost in translation. Now, in my mind’s-eye, I have the full picture. I can now see who they really are when they put up a post or we chat on messenger. I, now, better understand where they are coming from. Let’s face it, nothing beats a good face-to-face chat! Just the expressions and inflections of their face and voice–all of that is priceless.

It was three days of bonding and inspiration.

I also have to say… For me, I was standing among the Titans of my industry, and I felt that deafening (unspoken) challenge, moving me to be better and do better–as a writer, dad (parent) and as a human being.

I have so much more to say, but I think I will make this a two-part-er (heck, maybe even a six-part piece). There’s still so much to relate. That just means you can look forward to reading more about my experiences at Dad 2.0 in the coming days and weeks.