Time and Babies Fly Part III: A Daddying Poem
- Allan Shedlin
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 2
By Scott Beller
Daddying Editor
My daughters’ college freshman and high-school junior years barrel towards me. A new school year always brings something new for our kids. But after what feels like the shortest summer ever, filled with road tripping, schedule planning, and future gazing, this may be the first time I’ve really felt the impact of back-to-school urgency.
As a Dad with daughters headed in different directions this fall – one familiar and one uncharted – I’ve been spending the quiet times reflecting on where we’ve been together. When it was just us while their Mom was at the office or on a business trip. When doing and going and deciding were mostly under my control. But when it all still seemed difficult. Mapping every activity. Keeping the kids active...and fed. Trying to make each day different, exciting, and enriching for both of them. And feeling like I failed to fulfill two out of three of those conditions every day.
But what I often forget is that what mattered most was that I gave them at least one important thing daily: a Dad who cared and was there for them. That's something for me to hold onto while I'm still learning to let them go.
While preparing a longer post for later this month commemorating my oldest daughter's departure for college, I poured thought into creating a poem looking back at what (as it turns out) were easier years being an at-home Daddy:
One Day When You Were Little
Just you and me
Til Mommy comes home
Looking at each other
Figuring out what to do again.
Let’s read a book.
You climb onto my lap
Spin to lean against me
I do the voices
You giggle and turn pages
I know how some stories go
Some we discover together.
The first kind used to be my favorite.
Let’s read another
Before we watch Monsters Inc or Oswald
Or Nemo or Fresh Beat Band
Popcorn, snacktraps, and sippycups.
Better ideas
Let’s move
And make
And play
Dance party or dress-up
Fieldtrip for merry-go-round or Ferris wheel
Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, or "Daddy, May I"
How about all of the above?
Not soccer
Not crew
Not yet.
Around the corner
The park swing, sandbox, and slide always beckon
With or without a playdate
But our last visit
Was only yesterday.
If snow is falling
School is closed
But the front yard is open
For sledding.
If the weather is hot
The sprinkler is ready
But first maybe a museum.
Lunchtime abounds
With quesadilla, carrots, and apple slices
Songs crowding an iPod
Fill the house
With the Sound of Music
Beatles to Barenaked Ladies
Rodrigo y Gabriela to Ernie & Bert
Justin Roberts to SpongeBob’s
The Best Day Ever.
Over and over again
Evolving playlists of the familiar
And soon-to-be familiar
Til dinner, bath, and bedtime
Til we read another story
And Daddy sings you quiet lullabies
We dance towards another day
Just you and me.
– Scott Beller
Daddying Film Fest 2026
The 5th annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) welcomes film and video submissions, including TikToks and Instagram reels, from students (3rd-graders through undergraduates), Dads/Granddads, Dad figures, and indie filmmakers worldwide! Dads/Granddads, Dad figures, and students can submit videos/films for FREE on D3F's FilmFreeway page through Friday, Oct 3, 2025. Regular entry deadline is Monday, December 8.
And DC-region student and Dad singers, rappers, bands, choirs, dancers, and poetry slammers, don't forget this year's NEW Daddying Film Forum Opening Acts Contest! We're hosting a music, poetry, and dance video competition to choose opening acts that will perform live at the 4th annual Daddying Film Forum in Washington, DC, January 30-31, 2026. The contest is open to local DC, Maryland, and Virginia students, Dads/Dad figures, and Granddads across a range of musical, spoken-word, and dance performance categories. Contest entries are FREE* but must be submitted no later than October 3, 2025.
Not from the DMV? No problem! Even if you're not located in DC, MD, or VA, we'd love for you to create/submit a daddying-related music/dance video for D3F 2026 consideration, and all student and Dad/Granddad/Dad figure entries are still FREE if submitted by October 3, 2025. Students/Dads/Dad figures will still be eligible to earn Atticus Awards and prize money in their respective award categories! Check D3F's website for more details.
*NOTE to choir/dance directors, teachers, and other adults submitting videos on behalf of their students: Please submit contest videos on FilmFreeway as "student" submissions to ensure properly qualified as FREE entries.
Scott Beller is the proud, imperfect crew dad of two mighty girl rowers, imperfect partner of their rock-star mom/regatta chaperone, a truth teller, former soccer coach, part-time driving instructor, late-night filmgoer, photobomber, purveyor of banned books, Editor of the Daddying blog, and Director of Communications for DCG and D3F. He's a seasoned writer and PR agency veteran with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations of all sizes reach audiences and tell their stories. Prior to launching his own creative communications consultancy in 2003, he led PR teams with some of the world’s most respected agencies, including Fleishman-Hillard and The Weber Group. As a consultant, he’s helped launch two other parenting advocacy nonprofits with DCG founder Allan Shedlin. His first book, Beggars or Angels, was a ghostwritten memoir for the nonprofit Devotion to Children's founder Rosemary Tran Lauer. He was formerly known as "Imperfect Dad" and Head Writer/Editor for the Raising Nerd blog, which supported parents in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and creative problem solvers. He earned his BA in Communications from VA Tech so many years ago. You can follow him on Instagram and BlueSky!
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