And then something happened.
He wrote a couple of amazing posts that went viral. Dan done BLOWED up. His posts are often funny, but the ones that launched him to fame were not. They were real and heartfelt and amazing. They talked about rejecting the notion of "perfect" and his experiences as a bullied kid. He talked about his anger at how cruel some parents can be and how strangers would ask him awful things about his beautiful son, just because Noah is adopted.
His first full month of writing was August. He's already gotten millions hits this month. He's not just writing a blog - he's starting a movement to encourage acceptance, self-love and a very kid-focused way to be a loving parent. His success is unreal and we were all like: "WHUCK?! That's awesome! Well, I guess we'll never hear from him again but at least we have the satisfaction of knowing we can spot talent when we see it. Woo hoo! Go Dan!" Then we did a touchdown dance.
But he wrote us back! Again he was gracious and funny and not only did he still want to guest for us (check back in a couple of weeks), but he's letting us guest for him! TODAY! If you haven't read his posts or seen them forwarded on Facebook on Twitter, you'll thank us. Please consider following him on his blog, Facebook and Twitter. His message is entirely sincere. His awesomeness is reaching t-box levels. We've never actually met him, but we heart him. He's generous and cool and his little boy is the cutest thing ever. Just look...
xo, Kate & Lydia
(c)Herding Turtles, Inc. 2009 - 2010
Just found you through single dad laughing!! Thanks for sharing each other...My friend and I write a straight up mom blog (and by that I mean embarrassing) and It's always fun to connect with other parents who love their kids and are just trying to do their best! (and by that I mean survive!) Looking forward to more!
ReplyDeleteI just did the same. I have to say, you had me at the logo, but your pet post at SDL finished the job. Fantastic blog.
ReplyDeleteI love Dan and now through him I have found you ladies! I loved your guest post! Keep up the good work ladies, and I will be reading and recommending you to others.
ReplyDeleteKay
I learned of Rants from Mommyland about 4 days ago, and you ladies introduced me to Single Dad Laughing. Thanks to all three of you; you are life savers! Each of my two dogs died, within two years of each other, while I was out of town and couldn't get home fast enough to kiss and hug them good-bye. I've learned that there's never an inappropriate time to share the love you have for anyone, man or beast, because second chances aren't guaranteed. Keep up the great work, Mommies! xox <3 Cami
ReplyDeleteI read SDL's post on bullying and it resonated so much with me, I immediately sat down my oldest and made her late for school by talking to her about bullying... ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read more of his blogs. You go, Dan! ;)
I love SDL! To me, parent blogs like the ones like his, RFM, and all those many of us visit/write are real. More real than anything you'll find in the regular media. Thanks to everyone who shares all the laughter and support!
ReplyDeletemamajulep.blogspot.com
Your post on SDL about your furry children was pure awesomeness. Thank you for reminding me why I love reading your blog (even when it means I'm skipping my chance for a shower today). ;)
ReplyDeleteHuh, I found him last week.
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your post on SDL. It was worth the read because it lead me here. I am always looking for a great blog to read. I shall be back again.
ReplyDeleteIf you have time, check out my blog:-)
Molly
http://www.WhatwillShesayToday.blogspot.com
www.thebloggingmom.com
Oh seriously ladies?! AWESOMENESS. And now I'm all teary. My beagle baby has been struggling lately, and this hit home. I have to go give him another pill now...
ReplyDeleteI just read his perfectionist one and i totally agree with it. It's always interesting when somebody has a story that resonates. I do like your blog and just starting following. I'm new to the blogging world BTW. Just started All Fooked Up in August too. Not viral yet though! See ya
ReplyDeleteAnd your guest blog post just landed YOU LADIES a new reader. Great post! My 18 year old cat just died last week and you made me smile with the memories of his love.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've sent him a couple of e-mails asking if I could re-publish an article (You just broke your child, congratulations) because I felt the message was so important, I wanted to get the word out. Never heard back. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteOur first baby, Lazy Labrador, has a special place in our hearts and makes frequent appearances in my blog too. For a labrador RETRIEVER, he gets a big FAIL though. No swimming and no, ummm, RETRIEVING. Unless the ball happens to be heading the same direction he is. So lame. And, so SHED-Y. But, so so good with my "real" kids and, frankly, that's enough for me.
ReplyDeleteI love Rants from Mommyland and hesitate to be the unpopular dissenting opinion, but ... I read SDL in August when he went viral and his posts were being linked everywhere. I'm not a fan. His take on things just smacks me as very sanctimonious. For instance - his "Broken Child" blog post ... It is easy to take a moment from someone's parenting in Costco and sit in judgment of them without being at all aware of the circumstances around the situation. I'm sure we've all had moments as parents that would cast us in a very imperfect light if a stranger was observing us... and then how horrible it would be when that stranger hung the segment of our parenting life out to dry in a very public fashion on the internet. I work on being the best parent I can be all the time, and I know I've made mistakes just like everyone else - and I am very grateful that SDL hasn't been standing there viciously criticizing me in his mind as it happened - and later on the internet. One of the great things about Rants is that you girls aren't afraid to poke fun at yourself and admit when you've had a parenting fail. I just find SDL's "damn good dad" attitude to be a turnoff and am a bit disappointed that he's hanging out in Mommyland.
ReplyDelete@Katie, Lydia here. I understand what you mean. I have had moments at Target that were not pretty. Kate has had them too (read her post 'Tea Party at Target' for a perfect example). I also know that I'm only ever one meltdown away from a total parenting fail. I pretty much shoot for "not sucking" most of the time and just do the best I can. But what I want to say in defense of Dan's "Broken Child" post is that when I read it, I cringed bc that could have been me at Costco being a d-bag. And it made me rethink my behavior and be a little kinder to my kiddos and a little slower to flip out when they are rotten. So I appreciate his words because even though I identified with the "bad" parent -not sure what that says about me- I feel like a better parent for having read it and really noodling what he had to say. I also respect your opinion and how well written it was.
ReplyDeleteT-box tip and far away high five,
Lydia
I found y'all thru your post on SDL and love you. I think y'all are awesome and funny, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteJessi
Woody sounds just like my Dodge. Much love and hugs to you on your loss. And I'm another SDL reader who is now hooked on y'all. :)
ReplyDeleteI found SDL about a month ago. I write a single dad blog as well and I can honestly say that Dan has been an inspiration to me as a single dad and as a writer. I can say that I'm already a better dad because of the things that I have read on SDL. and btw girls, your rants make me laugh so hard that my spleen hurts. I hope it's ok that a dad is peeking in...
ReplyDeleteI also found you the SDL! Both blogs are great, I read them everyday :)
ReplyDelete@ Katie – I completely agree. Nobody’s perfect and I don’t think that anyone should sit in judgment of a person over a split second that they happen to witness in a store. I read SDL’s perfection post a couple of weeks ago and really liked it, so I decided to follow him. But the more I read the more I disliked his blog. He seems overly judgmental, narcissistic and condescending. His Facebook update was something like “check back tomorrow for the most powerful thing I’ve ever written….I’m going to change the world…blah, blah, blah” more times than I can count. That gets old after a while, have some modesty nobody’s perfect. It seems like post after post is about telling his readers how great he is at everything and how much they suck. Sorry but that’s not positive or uplifting to me. That combined with the constant bragging about his numbers and popularity and the begging people to share his posts and write to Ellen caused me to eventually unlike him on Facebook and quit visiting his blog. I don’t really understand the appeal but to each their own.
ReplyDeleteI really need to start a blog called the LCD. You'll love it.
ReplyDelete