Casey Cossitt-Yager is a sales rep for a leading supplier of uniform and facility services and lives in Hamilton, NY, home to Colgate University, where he is raising his two daughters! Every Dad of the Week answers the following questions, read on to learn more about Steve and his family!
- What was your first reaction when you found out that you were going to be a father?
- I was extremely excited. I knew I always wanted to have kids and my goal was to have my first one by 28… and we had our girl at 28.
- When you knew you were going to be a father of a daughter, who or where did you turn to for advice?
- This is a tough one, because we received advice from EVERYONE. My wife’s parents and my parents were not exactly star parents growing up… so my wife and I had many discussions on what we learned from when we were children and we knew how we would avoid certain situations we went through as kids. Other times we needed advice we would reach out to other newer parents for advice as well. When it came to strollers and different types of equipment… we were stopping strangers in the aisles of Toys R Us asking for their opinions!
- How would your kids describe you as a dad?
- My girls are daddy’s girls. Especially my oldest who is 25 months. I think if they could form sentences they would think I’m the best thing since sliced bread. (The bar isn’t too high at this age)
- What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
- I think the hardest thing for me has been balancing home life and work life. Sometimes I bring work home, figuratively and literally. I’m very involved with my work and sometimes it takes over. But I’m working on balancing the stress of sales.
- Looking back on your life as a father, what would you change if you could?
- So far I’ve been a father for just over 2 years and I don’t think I would change anything about being a father necessarily. One thing I wished I did differently was realize that friendships change as things in your life change. I would have spent less time working on friendships that were one way streets. People take different paths in life and it took me some time to realize that. It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just life.
- What do you do for fun with your daughter(s)?
- I try to play with my daughter outside as much as possible. She cant go out into the garage without wanting to go for a four wheeler ride around the yard. If she could live outside she would. My youngest is still in the “potato” phase as we call it, being only 5 months. But she’s working on being mobile. She loves pretending to get her arm stuck in her clothes and at 5 months old that seems to be the only thing that makes her laugh lol.
- What advice would you give to other dads with daughters?
- Take it all in. Especially new dads. This time is going fast for me. My daughters are 2 and 5 months… and I think about the moment we found out about being pregnant with our first and it feels like yesterday. Every time your daughter wants to do something with you, you stop whatever you’re doing and do it. You’ll never get that opportunity back in life.
- How have you come to balance fatherhood and outside life?
- I’m still working on this part. I’ve cut most parts of my life out that don’t involve family or work. Not necessarily intentionally but that’s how it worked out after we had our kids. Nothing else really matters much. My wife and I are planning to start our own business together so that will be another element to balance but that will be primarily once they are school aged.
- What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a father?
- The moments my girls were born and I got to see their faces for the first time. The looks they gave me in the nursery as the nurses were getting all the information from our girls. Every time my daughter asks to play with tools over barbies, the laughs she has as we’re going fast on a four wheeler, me coming home from work and I hear here scream “daddy!” from the other room. The first time I heard both of my girls laugh as infants. I really can’t pick just one memorable experience… but nothing beats being called “daddy.”
If you’d like to be spotlighted in the weeks ahead, please fill out this form.
