If you’re like me, a some-what-seasoned-dad, then you may have found yourself in front of the bathroom mirror on some obscure morning, rubbing your protruding belly only to ask yourself, ‘When did this happen? When did my mid-section get so soft and jelly-like? When did I get a dad-bod?’

Now, this is no reason to go off to wallow in misery and lament over the days you used to have a smaller waist. Neither is this the time to place the blame for letting yourself go soft over the years. Yes, I am completely aware that in this superficial, modern age, we men are also subjected to the same harsh and unrealistic physical standards that most women have to bear with. It’s not fair to them, nor to us.

What I am talking about is acknowledgement and acceptance. ‘Yes, I have a dad bod and I am totally cool with it. In fact, I have EARNED it.’ Naturally, my achievement of the dad bod did not happen over night, it happened somewhere between juggling work, fatherhood and marriage.

Eventually our aesthetics take a backseat because we know that in the long run this current version of us will not really matter. It happens to most of us who are fully committed to child rearing. Those love handles that hang over to our sides have stories to tell. They tell a story of a man who is, above all, committed to the care and well being of his little tribe. They tell a story of a man who would eat all the left-overs just so they wouldn’t ‘go to waste’. They tell the story of a man who skipped his workout so the mother of his children could get a little extra sleep.

So my fellow men, the next time you look at yourself in the mirror, be not ashamed, BE PROUD. Your body has stood the test of fatherhood.