In the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, 2021 has been nicer to me than I ever imagined.

The messages I’ve received on Twitter and Instagram.

The book reviews.

The book purchases.

The national stories that have covered us from TODAY to The Kelly Clarkson Show to Southern Living to Yahoo News to Good Morning America. As a public relations professional, I always dreamed of getting media coverage…for the athletes and teams I worked with, but I never imagined I would get media coverage. It’s surreal and humbling.

While the handful of negative comments posted on social media about our story sting, and I feel sorry for those people for how they feel, the most challenging thing about all of this attention? Learning to accept compliments.

People from far and wide are telling me how much of an awesome parent I am…which I struggle to believe because I know there are millions of parents better than me.

I’ve had more people tell me how proud they are of me in the last six-plus months than I did in my first 38 years of life. For whatever reason, it’s hard for me to accept compliments. When someone tells me they are proud of me, I want to break down into tears - partly because it’s overwhelming that people feel this way about me but also because I don’t know what to say.

I promise I’m getting better.

The overwhelming response to something so simple to me has been amazing, and if it inspires just one parent to do the same for their child, then that’s all that matters.

When school starts in August, it’ll be my fifth year writing notes to Addison and my first year writing notes to Jackson. All I am is a dad trying to get better every day.

Follow Dr. Chris Yandle on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (@chrisyandle) for more inspirational #DadLunchNotes.