- Creating Your WonderDads Account
- Generating "My Lists" of Things to Do With Your Kids
- Emailing You Your Username/Password (Check your email to make sure its not in your spam folder)
However, when at 10 years old Sophia wrote her now-famous letter to President Obama, she unwittingly thrust us onto the world stage. Her letter went viral around the world, and when Obama wrote back to her personally her letter exchange was cemented in history. We ended up in national TV interviews and dozens upon dozens of news articles from major world outlets as well as blogs. The outpouring of love and support she received – we received – from friends, family and strangers was overwhelming. Sophia’s letter was read on the floor of the Supreme Court when they were deciding the fate of gay marriage rights, and her little voice became a rally cry for all families like ours. If you google Sophia Bailey-Klugh, you will see the pages and pages of stories about this incredible experience.
So how could we not be courageous when our own sweet daughter was showing such remarkable courage and inspiration for so many? This is one of the main reasons we started our blog, realizing how many people wanted and needed to hear positive stories about families like ours.
As bloggers and influencers, we share a great deal about our family, our travels, our home life and things that we experience together. Many people know A LOT about us. However, we’ve kept privacy an important element in our lives and have (fairly) successful separated our public sharing with our private moments. If Ava and Sophia chose to follow our footsteps, we would want them to understand the nuance of that fine line. Sharing is one thing, but over-sharing private moments is altogether something else. We already talk about this a great deal, and have active family conversations about what will be “family approved” to share on our 2DadsWithBaggage social channels and blog.
– Always bring a surprise bag of fun on the plane, especially when the kids are really little and the flight will be long. Unless you want them glued to a screen the entire time, you have to find ways to entertain them. We would pull one new toy or activity out of the bag at a time, playing with it together until they grew bored and put it aside. Later, we’d pull another out and do the same. The trick is packing the bag with things they have never seen – not their regular stuff – so it’s a whole new experience that captures their attention.
– Always bring them a change of clothes in your carry-on. Always. We’ve learned this lesson the hard way more than once. Not pretty for us, or anyone else seated around us. No need to explain the details.
– As the kids grow older, allow them to participate in planning activities at your destination. We found that when they help choose, we end up doing things we might not have experienced without their input – and it’s always really fun! Also they are less likely to complain about getting dragged to yet another museum or medieval church when they have something of their own to look forward to (or back on).
Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. That man was someone to respect, a fair and just man who was willing to stick up for the underdog no matter how unpopular that position might be. In his actions, he taught his kids more about integrity, civility, courage and the power of truth than any action hero ever could. Even though he is a fictional character, he is one of the most carefully realized, best presentations of what a father and man can be. He is my yardstick.
My own dad (Jon). Nobody knows who he was except his family and close friends, he was very private – never famous or accomplished anything tremendously profound. He was a good, honest, hard-working man with enormous integrity who taught us to always do the right thing. He never gave up on us, was always there to support or listen, and always somehow found the right words to make us feel better, whole, loved. He just passed away a few weeks ago, and I only hope I can honor him most by being as good a dad as he was to my brother and me.
Follow the family on Instagram @2dadswithbaggage and keep up with them on their blog 2dadswithbaggage.com for more family fun.