Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast where we provide one lesson every day to help you

with your most important job being a dad. These are lessons inspired by ancient philosophy,

by practical wisdom, and insights from dads all over the world. Thank you for

listening, and we hope this helps. You cannot abdicate your responsibilities. We've talked before

about F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was a great writer who

wrestled with many demons. He was spoiled by his parents. He inherited alcoholism. He struggled

valiantly at the end of his life to be a good father, but it was an uphill battle. Even the times

were against him. Society tolerated, selfish, immature fathers. In her fascinating book,

Careless People, Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of the Great Gatsby, Sarah Churchwell tells of the

nights that Ring Lardner and Fitzgerald would spend together in the 1920s when they both had

young kids. Lardner would come over and they'd stay up drinking and talking

and having fun. And then in the morning they'd have breakfast together. And after they'd finish,

Lardner would get up and say, well, I guess the children have left for school now. You might as well

go home. Yikes. Imagine deliberately missing breakfast with your kids.

Or maybe you can imagine.

Maybe your secret wish is to avoid the chaos of the morning rush to school.

Kids who won't wake up.

Kids who won't get dressed.

Solin car rides.

Mad dashes to finish homework.

You'd rather sleep in.

You'd rather be out with friends or in a hotel room

...