Dad Braids Club: The Missing Piece

Finding joy in life’s gaps (and mismatched socks).

Author

Dad Braids
August 31, 2025

Estimated read time: 3 min

🧠 Today’s Idea

The other day, my daughter and I were working on a puzzle. We were in the zone — until we hit the end and realized we were missing a piece.

She started to get upset, and on the spot I decided to spin it differently: maybe this was an achievement. Because life is imperfect.

There will always be infinite reasons to get upset — the trivial, the small, the things outside our control. But if we can reframe them, maybe even enjoy them, our kids will learn to carry that mindset too.

We’ve done the same thing with socks in our house. Mismatched socks aren’t a meltdown. They’re fun. They’re us.

No doubt, she’ll outgrow that at some point. But maybe these little lessons stick. Because we can’t control the world. But we can control our response to it. And sometimes loosening the reins — embracing the missing pieces and the mismatched socks — is the best lesson of all.

🌀 Braid of the Week

Half-up, half-down styles = the perfect balance.

Hair out of the face ✅

Still flowy and fun ✅

Quick to learn ✅

In this video I’ll show you 3 simple ones:

  1. Half-up ponytail

  2. Half-up braid

  3. Half-up bun

📸 Community Highlights

We hosted our first Dad Braids class last weekend at The Rabbit Hole Children’s Theater — and it was a dream come true.

The theme? Garden Fairy.

There was dress-up, crafts, a puppet show… and maybe even a fairy sighting. 🧚‍♀️

The best part? Watching dads go all-in — hair ties in one hand, daughters smiling ear to ear in the other.

We’re already planning the next one here in San Francisco. But so many of you have asked about classes in other places. If you’d like to see one in your city, please fill out this quick form.

📩 Want to share your own braid story or photo? Submit it here — we’d love to feature more of our community each week!

🗳️ Poll of the Week

What’s your go-to “easy win” activity with your kids?

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P.S. Last week, I asked: What do you most look forward to when the kids are finally asleep? Grand consensus was by far: Quiet time with my partner 🍿

🔗 Useful things I’ve found this week

🍅 Tomato Slicing Hack – A kitchen trick I’ll be using every day. Watch here

👴 Grandpa Wisdom – On being intentional and not rushing through life. Watch here

🧠 Parenting Philosophy – Dr. Shefali explains how conscious parenting shifts the focus from controlling kids to transforming ourselves. Watch here

✌🏻 Final Thought

Life won’t ever be perfect — missing puzzle pieces, mismatched socks, and all. But if we can choose joy in the gaps, maybe that’s where the magic really lives.

– Strider

First day of kindergarten!

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P.S. 

Got a braid, story, win or fail you want to share? Reply to this email—I’d love to hear it.