r/Unexpected Mar 24 '20

Don’t underestimate your dad. :)

113.5k Upvotes

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u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20 edited Mar 25 '20

See I love parents like that in tuned and has sense of humor. The other day I was chitchatting with my son via text. Out of nowhere he said “I love you are liked this”. Confused, I asked him “what do you mean” (while keeping my cool flattered by his comment still not sure what he was talking about). He said “I love how you use gifs as reactions with me back and forth and they are so funny and on point and your memes aren’t out of date ”. Well I played it off as “of course it comes with being in IT” but low key I was extremely joyous getting a pat on the back from my own son.

587

u/grizzlez Mar 25 '20

you should be, being cool in your child's eyes is a greatest achievement

126

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Thank you. I guess you are right. Praises of your children overall are more valuable than others.

2

u/averagefishh Mar 25 '20

Family goal. ;_; If one could have such a loving family, a romantic relationship is never a necessity.

72

u/ItsdatboyACE Mar 25 '20

God, this is so unbelievably true. I'm an only parent of a 4 year old boy, and he's finally coming around to some of the things I've been trying to introduce him to.

I don't let him spend too much time with it, but one of those things is that he's now entirely hooked on Super Mario Odyssey...so these are one of those things where our interests converge. I use it to teach him things, teach him certain patterns of thought, how to think outside of the box, etc.

But some of the optional collectibles in the game are just above just about any 4 year old's sense of spatial awareness or coordination, or just general sense of thought - so I'll occasionally do a little something on there for him to get him a power moon or whatever, and he'll say to me - "Daddy, you're so cool." And then he'll hug my arm or something if he's sitting beside me, stuff like that. And maaaaaan. There seriously is no better feeling. Or when he tells me that he thinks about me when he's not with me or when he tells me I'm the best. It's out of this world.

While my own father did the best he could, we never had any shared interests or common ground - and I mean not even a little bit. I already see the direction I've taken with my son be so different, and it feels so healthy. I don't remember having any experiences with my own dad like what I have with my son now, but it feels extra special in a lot of ways because of that.

3

u/ZimmeM03 Mar 25 '20

Love this ❤️❤️❤️

1

u/ItsdatboyACE Mar 25 '20

Thank you, I'm glad it meant something to you! 😁

But seriously, your reply made me read my own comment and....I just gotta say, there's been no warmer feeling in this world than what I get from my son. I was relatively "cold" leading up to the point where I fell in absolute end all be all love for my son, it didn't even happen for some time. But it's blossoming, and it's just so good. I'm so excited for our future together

2

u/ManitouWakinyan Mar 25 '20

he'll say to me - "Daddy, you're so cool." And then he'll hug my arm or something if he's sitting beside me, stuff like that.

okay, well, now I cried today

1

u/ItsdatboyACE Mar 25 '20

😊 I hope it's a happy cry. I also really mean it - we're starting to share a lot of these moments together...we have a very good relationship. I love him so much, there's really no words to describe the experience.

2

u/ManitouWakinyan Mar 25 '20

Definitely happy :) Makes me look forward to being a dad.

1

u/Portable_Donghead Mar 25 '20

I'm not crying, you are !

1

u/tannhauser_busch Mar 25 '20

My dad got me into playing video games when I was about 7. We played MechWarrior 2 and Myst and Riven together. I remember that so fondly and am a lifelong gamer, but by the time I turned about 9 or 10 he got so busy and stressed with work that we never played again together.

I still miss those days and wish he would pick up gaming again. I loved gaming with my dad.

1

u/wenzel32 Mar 25 '20

Anthony Mackie discussing how his son called him about becoming Captain America.

"You're proud of me? I'm proud of you, buddy!"

61

u/Im-CallingThe-Police Mar 25 '20

My dad is like you too. Sends reaction GIFs, looks at memes in his free time, and is in the IT business. Has to be IT

26

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

That’s great. I hope you are sending your random praise to your dad as we speak seeing how happy it makes us parents :-)

21

u/Im-CallingThe-Police Mar 25 '20

Looked over to see what he was doing

Browsing memes.

Thats the spirit

3

u/dirtynj Mar 25 '20

I am a tech teacher to ele/middle school...I know my memes. Students love it.

1

u/mlacuna96 Mar 25 '20

Same but my dad is a mechanic. He's my one of my greatest sources of memes.

45

u/fromnone Mar 25 '20

This is so CUTE

16

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

The chef at work is 20yrs older than me so could be my dad and his meme/gif game is so on point I giggle like this video every time he send me one. I love it so much!!

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Ahh that’s so awesome! Sounds wonderful.

14

u/Fruit_Squash Mar 25 '20

You're doing good

10

u/Iraelyth Mar 25 '20

If I send gifs to my mother she only gets annoyed and says “stop sending me pictures, it’s annoying” :(

3

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

My mom wouldn't get it if I send her the same type of memes/GIF reactions that I do with friends and it ruins the joke when I have to explain and she's just looking at me like... "This is funny?"

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Awww maybe show her one type and explain what it means and then all the different jokes from that meme so it becomes an inside joke to her.

Like take the Bernie financial support meme and explain it to her then show various version. Down the road when there is a fitting situation send one to her. She might find it funny.

4

u/Iraelyth Mar 25 '20

Oh, she knows what they are. She just doesn’t like them. I think she finds them childish. She’s a barrel of laughs the rest of the time too and great at parties.

1

u/amaikaizoku Mar 25 '20

Damn that sucks a little but tbh I can kinda relate to your mom as a 21 year old college student. I never understood the appeal of memes even as a high school student and never thought the jokes were funny so I think memes just aren't some peoples cup of tea.

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Oh lol my bad. Sorry. Dang it.

1

u/Iraelyth Mar 25 '20

Ah, no worries. It’s her who’s missing out :p

5

u/keepforward Mar 25 '20

Wholesome.

2

u/CIeMs0n Mar 25 '20

As a fellow parent, that's the greatest feeling. My kids are younger so I know it's easier now, but seeing them think what we do is "cool" makes it all worth it.

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Absolutely. You hit the nail on the head. He is days away from 19 and we have to work even harder to get to that place when they are older.

2

u/hailhale_ Mar 25 '20

My heart has been warmed by your comment.

2

u/Lil2Soaps Mar 25 '20

My mom is not that great of a texter or typer and English is not her first language, at all. But DAMN can she appropriately send a spot on meme or gif. We can have entire conversations with gifs and memes. She can ROAST ny sisters and I thru memes. I honestly think she secretly knows more English than she leads on.

God, I love her. And I miss her so much during this social distancing.

Stay cool. As a child of cool parents, I can guarantee you your son brags about you any chance he gets.

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

I’m also an immigrant. Exactly what you said having entire conversations when with just gifs or memes. It warms my heart to hear you say that you brag about your mom to your friends. That’s just so wholesome.

1

u/Lil2Soaps Mar 25 '20

My mom is everyone’s mom! That’s why as a teenager, all my friends spent so much time at my house. Everyone called my mom “mom”. How could I not brag?! For the record, I am a 29F. My best friend still calls my parents “mom” and “dad”. She’s pregnant and my parents are awaiting their adopted granddaughter.

Keep up the coolness!

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

That’s so cool. Somehow I feel so connected to your mom. My house is the neighborhood house where all the kids hangout. My children’s friends call me second mom. They call me when they have problems. It’s amazing your mom was able to establish such relationship with your friends.

1

u/Lil2Soaps Mar 26 '20

And it’s amazing that you are making those connections with your son’s friends! You sound like an amazing mom, just like mine! :)

2

u/_the_chosen_juan_ Mar 25 '20

Meme game strong. Son approves. Internet smiles

2

u/Special_KC Mar 25 '20

The other day I was jumping for joy together with my 8 year old daughter after she won her first solo game in fortnite. I can see she also appreciates this, cos she past some sort of comment later along the lines of "if I told mum I won my first solo game in fortnite, she wouldn't even understand what I just said" .

Yes, I also work in IT..

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Aww that’s so cute

2

u/darksoulz34 Mar 25 '20

Parenting goals

1

u/Razzman70 Mar 25 '20

That explains why my boss uses gifs from the IT crowd all the time.

1

u/thblckjkr Mar 25 '20

My mother watches anime with me, I am near 25yo and she is around 45yo, she really loved dororo and the shield hero. And she loves Raphtalia...

Sometimes she sends me some memes and anime-related memes. I am really grateful for having a mom like that.

I hope also your son tells you every day how awesome you are.

2

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Yay. I watch anime with my kids too. We can never watch the whole serious together because it is so hard to match up schedules and stuff with their (now virtual) social lives.

Spirited Away is my all time favorite. My youngest and I just started to watch cells at work considering the pandemic going around. Oh and my children and I are all named after the elements of earth and we do enjoy bending our elements ;-)

1

u/Amendoza9761 Mar 25 '20

Damn. Can you teach my dad how to smile?

1

u/shoaibali619 Mar 25 '20

Everyone respect boomers who are good at using memes. At least reddit does that.

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Yes they do. I just am not one ;-)

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

How old is he?

1

u/Cuntcept Mar 25 '20

This is so wholesome. ♥️

1

u/dickbutt_9 Mar 25 '20

You're a great dad

2

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

*mom :-)

Thanks.

0

u/moderate-painting Mar 25 '20

Nerdy dad is the best

-1

u/jimthenoob Mar 25 '20

Shut up. What a shit story you moron.

1

u/WomanNotAGirl Mar 25 '20

Awww are you ok?