Reflections on Fatherhood
Changing the way we drink and the origins of Betera.
Before becoming parents, many of us develop this vision of the type of dad or mom we aim to be. Then reality hits after one too many sleepless nights, the 5th blow-out of the week, and that vision gets cloudy. That's just the beginning. Elementary school days bring new challenges, and "survived" is now a frequent member of your lexicon. Who has the bandwidth for a vision?
We were at this point in life when we launched Betera: two fathers and one soon-to-be, setting out to change the way we drink. We recognized that the morning anxiety felt less daunting when we reduced or replaced alcohol with a quality non-alcoholic beverage. As a result, we were less distracted, found balance, and enjoyed the best parts of being a dad more. Sharing this experience with other parents and hearing their stories gives us great pleasure.
For Father's Day, we thought we would share what being a dad means to us.
"One thing I've learned as a dad is that things hit different. TV shows where there's a daughter and father relationship. Well, they hit different now. Tom Petty songs hit different. My priorities are different. And if I'm not careful with which ones I choose, they can hit pretty hard.
So, 10 months into being a dad, my favorite state of being yet, I'm keeping an eye on the things that pull me away from my new priority. Drinking's one of them. I'm proud to have finished Dry January, and I'm in the middle of a dry stretch right now. But, as things open up and a drink at the end of a long day often seems nice, it's good to know I'm starting to be more mindful of how many nights I'm drinking and how much. She's worth it." - Aaron Sanchez, Co-Founder
"When my kids were born, I knew my priorities needed to shift. I had a great responsibility on my hands to not only raise good people, but also to provide a happy home. Not going to lie, the first few years were far from perfect, but I was committed to creating a childhood like mine.
What I've learned is that we often target the big-ticket stuff first or most aggressively, yet it's the basics that matter the most to them. Spend time with your kids, not just in the room but fully present. Be a good role model; a lot of what they learn is from watching you. Simple enough, but I still need to remind myself. Changing my drinking habits made it easier for me to realize my parenting goals. I felt less distracted and was able to focus on being a better dad." - Nick Benz, Founder
"Being a chef and dad post-pandemic means even less time with my daughter, especially during the busy season. I think drinking would probably stretch me thinner and ruin my time with her, not to mention making it harder to crush work. The bottom line is she doesn't care how many hours I work or if my feet hurt. If I'm home, I need to be ON and FUN!" - Paul Eschbach, Founder
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