I have been Jogging as a Dad in WordPress since October 2012. Whenever I turn around during this journey, I have been amazed by how many kind strangers from all over the world are following and cheering me on.

One of the very first people to do exactly that was another blogging-father who lives in South Africa – that ‘left cheek’ of the ass-end of the world, as opposed to the ‘right cheek’ Australia which is where I live.

In fact, he was the 30^th person to “Follow” Jogging Dad. And if I may be so ungrateful as to overlook some of the “followers” who preceded him but who look suspiciously like internet spam marketers (a rather over-zealous species which accounts for over 50% of my followers), I would say this father from the Rainbow Nation was the probably one of the very first people to show any interest in what I had to share in blogsphere.

His cyber-blog name is Ah Dad and I’m proud to say that I have been tracking his musings for just as long.

And it is this highly talented blogger and inspirational father who recently invited yours truly on a Blog Tour (see his post here) – one that involves me answering four questions and then handing the stage over to two other bloggers who I admire.

While I’m over-awed by the occasion, especially in the company of such creative and humorous writers, I am taking up the challenge.

I am doing so, not only because it is a great honour, but also because I don’t want Ah Dad giving me a hard time until the cows come home that I fold like an origami when the pressure is on.

Question 1: What am I working on now?

I am supposed to be working on a film script called Reservoir Blogs. It’s about a bunch of misfit bloggers who bungle an attempt to steal all the ‘Likes’ on WordPress, and end up realising that they have been double-crossed by a mole amongst them who is responsible for determining “Freshly Pressed”.

Unfortunately, I am too busy hanging out with groupies on this Blog Tour that I had to call Quentin to finish off the script.

Question 2: How does my work differ from others in the genre?

I don’t think my work is that much different from others in the “parenting” genre. I am just one of the many fathers here in WordPress wanting to document, in some way, the trials and tribulations of parenthood.

Perhaps, the one distinguishing feature of my blog is that it often veers off into running and mid-life reflections, coupled with light-hearted attempts at fiction-writing. Then again, taking off on long joint-busting runs, wondering where your youth went and escaping into fantasy-land – what are these, at the end of the day, but mere ways of dealing with the trials and tribulations of parenthood?

Question 3: Why do I write what I do?

Moments are fleeting, none more so than when you have young children who grow so quickly.

Memories are fragile, none more so than when you reach middle-age and lose sight of the original motivation behind your actions.

One way to address all is to document your thoughts and observations regularly. And that is why I write what I do.

Question 4: How does my writing process work?

It’s embarrassing to admit but I don’t actually have a writing process. That word ‘process’ has, at least in my mind, a rather negative connotation. And I don’t want it anywhere near my writing which I treat as a pure hobby.

In practice, the flow-diagram for a typical post on The Jogging Dad looks something like this:

I have trouble dealing with one or both of my little sons e.g. dressing them properly on a weekend morning.

It leads to a showdown e.g. with my wife who wonders why the elder one’s pants are riding up to his knees and the younger one’s sleeves are down to his.

I get defeated e.g. by the wife who re-dresses all the boys including myself who she implores to start acting my age in terms of attire.

I redeem myself e.g. by sulking and going out for a long run.

Finally, I resurrect and reclaim my title as the Man of the House e.g. by blogging about it secretly behind my wife’s back after I’ve done the dishes and the vacuuming.

At the end of the day, coming up with ideas for blog posts is not difficult at all, especially for a dad who hasn’t the faintest idea about what he’s doing raising two little human beings.

The difficult part, for me at least, is the act of writing – the act of putting my thoughts onto paper (or screen). It’s something that can be so frustrating and laborious and, yet, can turn out to be the most satisfying and rewarding experience. Come to think of it, it’s not much different to the experiences of the two other things that I blog out about all the time.

So there you have it.

I hope I didn’t let the Blog Tour organisers down with my performance.

Unfortunately, it’s here that I must disappoint them. I am supposed to now invite two more great bloggers to join this fantastic Tour. However, I simply cannot cherry-pick just two out of the numerous talented writers here in WordPress that I religiously follow.

I have been reprimanded frequently by my wife for playing favourites with my two sons depending on my mood. So, I’m not going start again here with my many wonderful blogging pals.

For those who do want to discover more wonderful bloggers to follow, I suggest you visit Ah Dad’s website and pay particular attention to those bloggers he interacts with in the Comments Section. Those are the ones you should be following, in addition to Ah Dad himself, of course – a father with such a sense of humour and sincerity that you will become blogging pals with him in no time, notwithstanding that he’s a Springboks fan.

Keep on pounding.