Recap of 2024 as a New Dad

Year recaps or new year resolutions have never been a thing in my life, up until now..

This year was different. Different from all the years I have spent without knowing what it really means to be a pillar of support for someone, to be admired by two little eyes, to push all my limits and stand up against all my weaknesses for someone, to be scared to death that something bad might happen, to feel utterly inadequate, to be needed, to be really happy, to be together, to be a family, to be a father..

Family, Travel and Memories

Yes we had a son this year and I became a father which took me months to realize what was just happened, what being a father really means..

I literally do not recall when was the last time I smiled and kissed someone that much yet I still can’t get enough :) I love him with all my heart. Best part is I also know that he loves me in the purest way possible. Sometimes, I get teary-eyed while thinking about that my son running toward me when I come home will come to an end one day. No matter how exhausted we get, I always remind myself and my wife this thought, suddenly we stop, take a deep breath, and hug each other while squeezing our son in between. Then we keep going :)

After becoming a father, I realized that everything has changed and should be changed in my life. Because there is this little one waiting to suck and imitate all your actions, expressions and reactions that you are unaware of. I started being more self-aware and often find myself staring into the mirror, analyzing my expressions and wondering about the possibility of being copied by my little lion. In the mean time, I also realized how much I resemble my father. This brings me immense joy, yet at the same time, it terrifies me.

This year surely has been the most challenging one of my life, yet we still managed to collect wonderful memories as a family. Our first and most fearful quest was to travel with our four-month-old baby to Sapanca over Eskisehir, Turkey starting from Ankara which would span a distance of 400km. We planned to make a stopover in Eskisehir with our parents before continuing our journey. Fortunately, our son has slept most of the way, which significantly reduced our stress levels and made the trip enjoyable for all of us.

We’ve stayed in a beautiful bungalow by the Lake Sapanca where we experienced the importance of moving in cat-steps through the house. All I remember about that bungalow is the sound wood creaks. Apart from that, we had chance to visit several places around Sapanca and get relaxed.

Our second trip took us to Amasra, Turkey. We spent only half a day exploring the city, which was manageable even with a baby. The most challenging yet amazing part of our trip was visiting the Horma Canyon in Kure Mountains National Park. It was one of the most breathtaking trails I’ve ever seen in Turkey.

Our last, but the longest trip was to Igneada (650km) to see and stay inside the Longoz forest, a rare type of flooded forest. We stayed at Longosphere Glamping facility which is a nice place to stay especially if you are with a grown up kid. However, our baby was 6 months old, so we did not benefit that much from the facility.

We also visited Eskişehir several times throughout the year, as both my parents and my wife’s parents live there. On one occasion, we stayed for a week. During that visit, we had the opportunity to explore several places from my childhood. It was deeply emotional for me to see my son sitting on the same trees I sat on 30 years ago.

We also have the opportunity to celebrate the first birthday of our son in Eskisehir. It was more of a gathering with our family. The first year with our son was both challenging and joyful. I cherish every moment spent with him. I am grateful for this blessing everyday. Happy Birthday my son. I love you ! :)

Games

After becoming a father, and having a full-time office job, it is not easy to mention to games anymore I know. However, I managed to spare some time at the beginning of the year when our son was little and sleeping more often, spending more time with his mother. I had a PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch Oled and a Steam Deck Oled at that time.

I finished two of the greatest games on PS5 this year: God of War (2018) and The Last Of Us Part 1. Both were extraordinary. Especially both were games that the protagonists develop parental bond with their younger companions. The journey of Kratos becoming a father to his son Atreus and their struggles together hit me different since I am also transitioning to become a father to a son. On the other hand, Joel trying to recover from his daughter’s loss and beginning to see Ellie as a surrogate daughter. Misfortunes of Joel terrifies me as a new parent. Both games have managed to shed tears from me at the endgame since both ends with scenes where it portraits the love of a father to his child

I did not choose these games specifically as a new parent, but they resonated with my situation so well that I am grateful to stumble upon these two. I can recommend these games to new fathers without hesitation 😉

On the Nintendo Switch, my favorite console, I finished Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I think this game has not been praised enough. Along with Ori series, this game made me appreciate the platforming Metroidvania genre. It is not an easy task to convert someone liking a whole genre with only one game. I think this is a success. Again I can easily recommend this game to anyone who likes platforming.

I also started playing The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom since I already finished the Breadth of the Wild last year. However, I experienced some performance issues and decided to left finishing this one on the upcoming Switch 2 which will support Switch 1 games both digitally and physically.

On the Steam Deck side I only played The Witcher 3, and I immediately fell in love with its setting. Especially the vast green lands and its middle aged theme. Rushing with Roach to any place freely without knowing what is to come and explore the hidden places, treasures, quests.. I finished White Orchard and Velen & Novigrad chapters. It was a relieving experience, yet I did not get to finish the game and sold my deck. This game runs so good on Deck btw.

On the Xbox Series X side, I started playing Diablo 4, Cod: Mw2 and Baldur’s Gate 3. I finished the campaign of CoD, but like most of people I liked its multiplayer a lot more. I did not finish Diablo and BG3 because I got distracted by PS5 games at that time. One day I hope to finish BG3, let’s see..

I also tried some indie games on several platforms, but did not finish any of them or did not play them long enough to mention here.

That’s all from my games recap for 2024. I do not describe myself as a gamer. I am not and I do not wish to be one, I am done being a gamer in 2009. However, I try to experience some of the greatest ones whenever I have some spare time.

DIY

I’ve always been a big fan of DIY projects. As time passes, I’m starting to realize that building stuff and creating things is a trait exclusive to creative people, and not everyone shares that passion. This is one of the realizations I experienced this year, which I struggled to accept. Because I cannot comprehend why anyone wouldn’t want to be creative and make something tangible with their own hands. The worst part is when you share your passions or desires to build something with the people around you, you immediately face negative criticism and attempts to discourage you. Guess I will need to find a proper way to deal with these types of people. I believe that the attraction to DIY projects is one of the defining characteristics that distinguishes creative individuals from the ordinary. Anyways, let’s talk about myself specifically :)

Because I became a father of newborn this year, I did not have much time to make DIY projects compared to previous years.

I’m working as a Software Engineer, and most of my work involves sitting in front of a computer. Recently, I got into the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole and tried out a bunch of different types. I eventually settled on the split keyboard, particularly the Corne ortholinear keyboard with its compact %40 layout. I’m planning to write a whole post about keyboards and my journey of switching from the ISO TR layout to the ANSI US layout while also learning touch typing after over 20 years of using the hunt and peck method.

In this post, I can only briefly mention that I built a wireless keyboard for myself in 2024 and I’m not going back. I also recorded a video while I was building it:

I was overjoyed when I heard the good news and immediately decided to upgrade my car to an SUV, being a father and all. However, I wasn’t particularly impressed with its soundproofing, so I decided to enhance it a bit. With the help of my friends, I managed to insulate the four doors of my SUV using CTK Premium vibrodamping materials. We also added some extra soundproofing foam for extra protection. It was a physically demanding task, but I liked the results. The ability to disassemble and reassemble my car doors independently gave me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

I also set up several IKEA products this year while preparing our son’s room. I painted the room, applied wall stickers, changed the electrical outlets and switches, and replaced the gaskets of the PVC windows. However, I’m not sure if these activities would be considered DIY.

Thoughts

As I mostly mentioned in the first part, this year was particularly special for me. With the new year approaching, I couldn’t help but feel that 2024 had flown by so quickly that I hadn’t accomplished anything significant. However, writing this blog post made me realize that I actually accomplished quite a bit. I became a father, learned a whole new set of skills about caring for a baby, traveled with my family to distant places, played fantastic games, captured wonderful photos and videos, and most importantly, I understood the importance of family, I understood the real meaning of being a couple with my wife, of being a team to achieve the most important and fulfilling quest of our lives.

I am grateful all the blessings 2024 brought to my life and looking forward to the next chapter.