As we march through 2026, our relentless search for joy continues. Just a month in – and a week after rejuvenating Daddying Film Forum – and my joy meter already needed a boost, like so many people from Minneapolis to Milan. The Super Bowl halftime show's momentum helped carry us to the Olympics Opening Ceremonies, medal ceremonies, and a heroic, 2,300-mile "Walk for Peace," which streamed through our frigid neighborhood this week. But not everything in our lives has to be a spectacle to move the needle. Like daddying, more often it's the little day-to-day activities and accumulated moments that matter most and provide the mental resilience we need to weather the worst life throws at us. As I sorted through old photos of me with my kids to use for this post, I was reminded of thousands of those little things.

With Christmas and New Year's Day now distant in our rearview (but holiday decor still keeping front yards festive), I thought I'd write about some seasonal traditions we welcomed in 2025 and other first-time activities I hope continue as family traditions for years to come.

The 5th Annual virtual Daddying Film Festival kicked off today on Eventive. A little light to help subdue the gathering darkness and to reveal – to remind us – just how closely connected we all are and need one another. This year, our D3F staff has curated 71 short and feature films from students, Dads, Granddads, Moms, and other indie filmmakers around the world to help celebrate the importance of having or being a positively involved Dad or dad figure. And together with a gifted group of students jurors and industry expert judges from a variety of professions, we narrowed our field to an amazing group of finalists.

It's the blog's 6th annual Daddying Books to Read with Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide! To kick off the 2025 holiday season of giving, I'll try to keep the up-front part of this post short and sweet because the next part is bountiful and even sweeter. A cornucopia awaits your browsing eyes, and overflows with stories, knowledge and truth, fresh perspectives, adventures, laughter and tears, and historical lessons everyone can and should embrace. But still, here we are in the year 2025, and book banning is on the rise. It's an old tool used by repressive regimes to distort reality, destroy independent thought, and bend a population to their will. The good news is that it's a strategy that rarely works for very long.

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller remembers his first boss, longtime friend, and award-winning writer J. Boyce Gleason.

It's been another "spooky" season of reveling in make-believe monsters and horror flicks, dressing up our homes and ourselves in costume, and exchanging good-spirited tricks and treats with the kids. But this year, in particular, those usual Halloween frights are nothing compared to the real-life scares our kids have had to endure in school and on campus. Places, as Allan notes in his 2022 commentary below, meant to be safe havens for children learn and grow.

According to literary freedom advocate PEN America, 22,810 books have been banned in U.S. schools since 2021. And as predicted, last November's election has, among other unconstitutional things, only helped to boost these groundless efforts. As I begin compiling this year's 6th annual Books to Read with Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide for posting next month, I am compelled to check in with a quick Banned Books Week post.

Daddying blog Editor Scott Beller debunks the myth that dads and their children can age out of blogging relevance.

As I face back-to-school 2025 with my daughters heading in different directions -- one entering college and one her high-school junior year, I think maybe I'M the one who needs "new student" orientation the most.

An American President, a convicted felon, orders American cities invaded by American troops under false pretense. People of color, regardless of their citizenship status, targeted, abducted, abused without cause or due process. Institutions of higher education, scientific/medical research, public health, environmental protections attacked and decimated. Attempts to ban books and LGBTQ+ people but not assault weapons. Economic sanctions (aka tariffs) on historically allied nations but not war aggressors. The most vulnerable, innocent children and families, continue to be displaced, starved of food and freedoms, ultimately to be wiped out at the whims of authoritarian regimes. To digest all these things happening here in our country and around the world at once can be overwhelming. But, for our kids and ourselves, we can't let them overwhelm us.

My daughters’ college freshman and high-school junior years barrel towards me. A new school year always brings something new for our kids. But after what feels like the shortest summer ever, filled with road tripping, schedule planning, and future gazing, this may be the first time I’ve really felt the impact of back-to-school urgency. As a Dad with daughters headed in different directions this fall – one familiar and one uncharted – I’ve been spending the quiet times reflecting on where we’ve been together. While preparing a longer post for later this month commemorating my oldest daughter's departure for college, I poured thought into creating a poem looking back at what (as it turns out) were easier years being an at-home Daddy.

I've probably written hundreds of thousands of words about and to this impressive girl over the past 17 years. Not only about how she made me a daddy, but also helped prepare me to face life's ups and downs and grounded me in unconditional love. This week, I was prepared to write many, many more words about her...and me...and this new rite of passage for both of us. But after rowing state championships, prom, and a graduation ceremony, a graduation party, and a plumbing emergency thrown into the middle of everything just to shake things up, I decided to save the pontification and offering of sage advice. I'm going to keep this week's post short and sweet, and the focus where it belongs: celebrating my amazing kid and her latest accomplishment.

It's the season of finals for students. For parents of seniors, that first sentence takes on a whole new meaning. Layers of meaning. And that makes it almost as tough on us. When I became a dad for the first time, the "firsts" were, of course, eagerly anticipated and easily celebrated – first diaper change, first steps, first word, first haircut. This week, in the midst of final exams, AP exams, Virginia State Crew Championships, and everything else, my senior – my first child to graduate high school – prepared to sing in her last choir concert. As my wife and I sat back listening to our daughter and her amazing choirmates perform, I recalled many middle and elementary school concerts and classroom plays from our past.

The blog has been my most effective – though sporadic – outlet for "discussing" the deeper meaning of film. The irony is not lost on me that much of my work the past four years has been promoting a festival with a main premise being that film/video is an ideal vehicle for encouraging reflection, prompting discussion, and expressing feelings about the fundamental and often unexplored impacts of father-child relationships. This fundamental aspect of the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) mission is what sets it apart from the 12,000+ other film festivals held worldwide each year.

Our “Little Festival that Could,” now in its 4th year, may not yet be Sundance, but we continue to expand and reach filmmakers of all backgrounds from around the world who understand and celebrate the importance of having or being an involved Dad or dad figure. Since 2022, D3F has attracted submissions from 28 countries. That always amazes me. While we’re still finding our way and growing our attendance, it's been clear from the beginning that the Festival’s themes strongly resonate with everyone they reach. And there are people everywhere who want and need to tell their daddying stories, both the joyful and the painful. These are important stories that might not otherwise find the audience they deserve and possibly even change someone else's life in the process.

Have you checked outside lately? It's getting rough. Some might say, "Trumpestuous." At a time when all of us could use a little more serenity, more joy, more connection to what really matters in our lives, along comes the 4th annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), free on Eventive from Monday, April 7th through Saturday, April 12th. Since 2022, D3F's lineup of films and videos has been filled with a diversity of Official Selections from students, dads, granddads, dad figures, moms, and independent filmmakers from 27 countries. Although not all of them have been upbeat, feel-good stories, they all have been created from the heart and singularly focused on the significant impact of having or being a positively involved dad/dad figure...or not.

Recapping 5+ years writing and editing the Daddying blog. "...back in 2020, the world was different, but still on the verge of a catastrophe made worse by one man, possibly the worst father on Earth, and his inept regime. Five years later, the more things have changed, the more they appear to have stayed the same. But still, there are daddying stories to be told – of joy and pain. We hope that in reminding everyone we are all connected and doing what we can to be the best for our kids and ourselves, those stories will help get us all through what lies ahead."

I'm trying, y'all. I really am. But the state of our world, compounded by daily bombardment of hate, spite, and gross incompetence coming from what now passes for government "leaders," has made keeping a positive outlook for our families, communities, and environment almost impossible. As parents working towards a better future for our kids, however, we must. And to do that, we must first fortify ourselves for the fight.

In a normal year, I’d probably have taken down all the Christmas lights by now. But I’ve left our outside decorations up a little longer this time...Maybe my holiday lights hold-out is a small act of resistance. To repel the chaos, political division, and uncertainty we’ve endured now for more than half my daughters’ lifetimes. To hang on to joy a little bit longer.

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller admits he'd rather talk about his kids and Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) stories at holiday parties. But you're welcome to read his daddying origin story anytime.