I was hanging out with an old friend the other day—someone I’ve known long before I was ever a dad—and she paid me a rather nice compliment. She said matter-of-factly: “Fatherhood suits you.”

At the time, I thought, “That’s nice.” But as the days went by, that simple compliment really got me thinking. About what it means to be a dad. About what a huge responsibility it is. And that it appears I’m doing a good job of it, or that it seems to come naturally? That’s just icing on the cake.

So from this perspective, a week after hearing that friend say “Fatherhood suits you”, I’ve realized it was the highest compliment I have ever received.

I’ve never been a big fan of reggae. For some reason, I just couldn’t relate. Maybe it’s because I’m a total gringo and didn’t grow up amidst the crippling poverty of an island nation. Most likely it’s the simple fact that the “dee DUH dee DUH” off-beat annoys me like no other kind of music. (This coming from the dude who freely admits to liking Celtic Women.)

But when I saw this vid courtesy of our very close friends at BoingBoing, I felt like I had to share it. The calming effects of the music—if they work for my kid—means I’ll be buying a boatload of Bob Marley songs on iTunes soon for long car rides.

What kinds of music or specific songs soothe your savage little beast?

If you noticed we haven’t had many posts of BoF lately, well then God bless you for noticing.

It’s been quiet in these parts because of one thing: work.

All of us know that when you have a kid, everything changes. Your tolerance for fecal matter. Your (lack of) sleep schedule. And for many of us, our approach to work.

Over the years, I’ve certainly applied myself at work, but usually skated out relatively on time in the evenings: preferring to work efficiently rather than log a sh*tload of hours to prove a point. But recently, I’ve been pouring myself into my work. Which seems at odds with having a family at home who could use my help/presence. I’m not avoiding them, it’s just that I feel a new responsibility to excel at work as I have a very cute new dependent at home.

If it were just me and my wife, I might not be applying myself so diligently. I can always find a new job and not sweat the month or two without income. But with junior in the picture, any loss of income (even a month’s worth), cuts into his “college fund” (should college even be an option in 18 years).

So here at work I sit. Getting here so early in the morning, I’m the one turning off the security alarm. Leaving so late on my bike that there’s little traffic on the streets of Manhattan. Which means some days I don’t get to see my son awake at all—just getting one little peek at night to see him sleeping.

That can’t be right, can it? Spending all my time at work to protect my job because of the little guy, but then missing out on seeing him? This has required me to find balance, to be firm with my coworkers about when they can expect me to be present, and when they cannot. Boundaries are tough to set, because you don’t want to upset your employer.

Striking that balance is, you guessed it, hard work.

What did you guys go through involving work after your baby was born?