On this, my daughter’s birthday, I am reminded of how lucky I am

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I never planned on having kids. I’m not a person who believes that having kids is inherently an enriching or soul nourishing act or experience. We all know enough shitty parents to understand this, and enough great people who are doing just fine without them. I am not a person who believes that the positive things in my life would inherently be positive if injected into the life of another.

I married into having a daughter, though, and having her in my life has been the absolute best. In her words, I am “her Alex,” I “make the best food,” and even if she “had another Alex, he wouldn’t as good” as me. This morning she gave me a hug and a kiss before I took off for work and asked for me to stay. She will be spending the day with her mother and a friend. My wife set up a scavenger hunt for the girls to wake up to as part of our celebration of our daughter’s 6th birthday because she is an incredible mother and partner.

I don’t like to post unnecessarily boastful stories, or to imply that our life is better than it is. We all have difficulties that are commonplace in nearly every household and life is never as good as what most of us project via social media. But on this, my daughter’s birthday, I am reminded of how unbelievably lucky I am.

Alex Steed

About Alex Steed

Alex Steed has written about and engaged in politics since he was an insufferable teenager. He has run for the Statehouse and produced a successful web series. He now runs a content firm called Knack Factory with two guys who are a lot more talented than himself.