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Evan Porter

I'm a storyteller at heart, and I'm grateful to live in a time when amazing stories have never been easier to find. I nerd out about cool technology that's making the world a better place, choke up at triumphant underdog stories and openly weep about anything having to do with being a dad. Find me on https://dadfixeseverything.com

Community

Frugal people share 13 silly money-saving tips that actually work.

Warning: These may involve some light stealing from work.

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Most adults take a look at their lives somewhat frequently to try to figure out where they can save money. It might be cutting one of the streaming services we're not using or trying to dial back the Starbucks PSLs. However, the people on the subreddit r/frugal, take saving money to a whole new level.

A recent thread posted by u/Jskyesthelimit was chock full of solid gold advice for anyone looking to trim the budget but who doesn't want to put in a lot of work.

(Yeah, yeah — we all know meal-prepping is effective, but who's got the time? We're looking for easy wins, here.)

The prompt, "What's the little effortless, stupid thing you do that TECHNICALLY saves you money?", got some responses and tips you've probably never thought of.

They're small, they're silly — but they do add up.

1. Spend more time outside

"if i go outside and play all day, i don't have consumerist urges to buy stupid shit." - looney417

Can't spend money if you don't go into a store!

It's a good idea to get away from your phone or laptop for a while, too. If you're not careful, you can buy a hundred dollars worth of junk on Amazon before you even realize what's happening.

2. Time your dishwasher runs

"When our dishwasher is full and ready to be started, I set an alarm on my watch for 9pm. I start the dishwasher when the alarm goes off since the electricity rate goes down after 9pm." - misterfuss

A half loaded dishwasher Nathan Dumloa/Unsplash

Did you know that electricity costs more during "peak hours"? Where I live, power can cost up to 4x as much from 2-7pm versus off-peak hours.

Most people run the dishwasher at night anyway, but you should look up your own local peak hours. Starting the nightly load at 9 instead of 8 every night could actually save you a couple of bucks a month.

3. Fill a large water bottle at work before you leave

u/MrPerfectionisback swears by this one.

Getting a gigantic, high-quality water bottle could be a great investment if you're able to top it off at the office every day and bring your water bill down a smidge.

4. Use less laundry detergent

Most of us approach laundry detergent with a "fill 'er up" attitude. But, usually, you can get away with even just one tablespoon if your clothes aren't that dirty. and using less will help your clothes last longer.

u/jbblue48089 also recommends using solid bar shampoo and dish soap, which have a longer lifespan than liquid soaps.

5. Re-wear clothes (other than socks and underwear)

Another option from u/ztreHdrahciR — don't wash your clothes at all! At least not right away.

Chances are you can get a few wears out of jeans or even t-shirts and save on laundry costs, to the tune of a few dollars per year.

6. Make your own doggie poo bags

"Use used food bags to pick up the dogs poop." - bezere

Poop bags are expensive! You could easily spend $20-50 per year depending on what brand you use.

Next time you pack a sandwich for lunch, save that plastic baggie and use it for pick-up duty later on.

7. Charge your phone at work (or wherever there's an outlet)

A good one from u/runmemymo.

Never pass up a chance for free electric!

If you don't work in an office, just carry your phone charger with you. Lots of restaurants and even public spaces have outlets so you can get a little free juice.

8. Poo at work (or wherever there's a bathroom)

u/larkfor says they save a ton of money each year on water and toilet paper by doing their business at work or the office.

Never pass up a chance for free water and toilet paper!

9. Cut sponges in half

yellow soapy sponge Pille R. Priske/Unsplash

u/plaincheeseburger recommends turning one sponge into two.

It will still work exactly the same and last twice as long.

10. Repair old dog toys

I love this one from u/pdxarchitecht!

My dogs love immediately ripping the stuffing out of new toys, which doesn't feel like a great value for my money.

The hack? Put the stuffing back in and add a stitch or two to close it up and save yourself $10 or more.

11. Twist the stems off of peppers if paying by weight

This ingenious and petty tip comes from u/casterix75.

Not all supermarkets charge by weight for bell peppers (or similar produce), but if they do, why pay for the stem? Twist it off and save yourself a few cents at the checkout.

12. Save the cold water when running a shower or bath

An old science teacher taught me this one in high school, recommended in this thread by u/smartquokka.

Put a bucket in the shower or bath to collect the cold water while it's heating up. Use that to water plants, fill the dog bowls, or flush the toilet.

13. Unplug everything at night

hands holding a plug Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many people recommended this — it's an r/frugal staple.

Appliances on standby still use power, so unplug as many things as possible before going to bed. u/Larkfor estimates this saves them $10 a month or so on power.

These tips are so small they're almost microscopic, but you know what? Most of them are so easy you'd barely notice a difference in your lifestyle and routine. And all together, you could save yourself a decent chunk of money every year by making a few simple changes.

Thanks to the thrifty people of Reddit for sharing their hacks with the rest of us!

This article originally appeared last year.

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Motherhood

New study determines the whopping yearly dollar value of a mother's work

Mom's aren't asking for a paycheck, but even just a smidge of support would be nice.

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Moms carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. We know about the mental load and the stress and the impossible-to-meet expectations, but then there’s the physical workload, too: The hours of cleaning done every year, countless loads of laundry, untold amounts of time shuttling kids back and forth to school and friends’ houses and practice, the dozens of quick trips to the store and hours spent meal planning and cooking. If you were going to pay a person to do all of that for you, there’s no telling what it might cost! Or is there?

A new study from the folks at Insure.com has done the math and estimated that the average mother’s “salary”, a fair wage to compensate for all the hours worked — that normally go completely uncompensated! — would be $140,315.

That's up from the same group's estimate of $116,022 in 2021. A separate study also done in 2021 put the number at around $184k.

The number isn't pulled from thin air. It's based on the fair market value of real work.

mom in white long sleeve shirt reading to baby in white onesie Photo by Wesley Mc Lachlan on Unsplash

The team used the Bureau of Labor and Statistics to find out how much money, on average, a cook makes, and then multiplied that number by the hours moms spend cooking. Then you have the cost of a tutor times the hours mom spends helping with homework. And so on.

To put it into perspective, that’s a sweet six figure salary, more than your average accountant or consultant makes, and not far off from the salary of a pediatrician! Sadly, not only do moms not get paid for their efforts, we actually often view the time spent parenting and running a household as worthless. Just ask any mom that’s tried to re-enter the working world after taking a few years off to stay at home how valuable that experience is.

Worse still, a lot of moms pull off this ridiculous workload while holding down a full-time job that probably doesn't even pay as much!

Of course, moms aren’t actually asking to be paid for all this labor (though they wouldn’t mind).

Some groups have actually proposed regular stipends for moms, but generally, people don't get paid for taking care of their own lives. It'd be great if we all earned extra cash by doing our laundry or mowing our own lawn, or even taking care of our children.

Instead of forking over $140k per year to every mother in America — we could ask the kids to pay, but I don’t think most of their piggy banks have enough scratch — we should be asking why it's so damn hard to be a mom in the first place, and if there are ways that we could ease up some of that workload. In fact, there are:

mom hugging child Photo by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash

Affordable childcare. Childcare workers are underpaid, too, and yet somehow daycare is completely unaffordable for many families. It’s not worth it for a lot of moms to pursue a career when they’re just going to hand over their entire paycheck, and then some, to daycare. The government could and should invest in subsidies or a universal childcare program to make this more accessible.

Retirement and insurance options. Many other countries have figured out ways to account for some of the value of stay-home caregivers by making contributions to a pension or retirement. Most experts agree that stay-at-home moms need life insurance, but... who's paying for it? Remember, that $140k is only hypothetical. Attaching a number to the work moms do, especially stay-at-home moms, seems like an exercise just to prove a point – but it’s actually more practical than that. It illustrates the need for society to recognize how much it would actually cost to replace everything that a mom does if the unthinkable were to occur.

Helping moms get back to work (if they want to). Ever heard of the motherhood penalty? It's the idea that the wage gap, which is already substantial, is even worse for moms. They earn about 71 cents for every dollar that a dad earns in the workplace. It's also harder for them to re-enter the workforce if they took time off to stay-at-home, and once there, they're more likely to get passed up for promotions. Some estimates say being a mom costs working women about $16,000 a year. (Yeesh, this is really adding up.)

woman holding baby sitting on green grass field under sunset Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash

Fathers do a lot of unpaid labor at home too, but the proverbial deck is really stacked against mothers.

There is still a large disparity in who’s doing more around the house and with the kids, and it’s much more common for moms to stay at home, work part time, or otherwise sacrifice their career and earning potential. When you add it all up, $140,000 sounds like a lot of money but it's really barely scratching the surface. There's no cook in the world that can replace mom's love-filled recipes, no driving-service that could replicate laughing and singing along with mom on the way to school. I think if you were to take that money and actually try to replace everything a mom does, you'd quickly discover about a million little things that could never, ever be accounted for.

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Business

Garbage man shares exactly how much he makes and now everyone wants to get their hands dirty

Now I see why sanitation jobs are so hard to come by.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor? Lawyer? Firefighter or brain surgeon? Maybe you achieved those dreams (congrats!) or maybe your idea of "success" changed radically as you got older. Reality is, if you can earn a living wage doing work you don't hate, with some decent benefits and time off, you're doing pretty dang well in life.

Not too many kids would say they want to grow up to become garbage collectors — and, in fact, there's a pretty strong stigma against the job — but they might rethink that if they knew how good of a career it actually is. One garbage collector was recently interviewed on TikTok where he was asked: "Can you make like six figures with overtime?" His response: "Oh, easily man."

The man who works for CR&R, an environmental services company in California, said "Starting pay is about $29 an hour, some drivers are making like $33." He says he and the other drivers routinely pull 12 hours days, working from 5am to 5pm, with overtime kicking in after 8 hours.

60 hours a week x $33 per hour puts him over $100k in pay before taxes and before factoring in the overtime pay. Now, those are long hours (very long), and hard work, but there are plenty of careers out there that demand the same hours and hard work and don't pay nearly as well. (Try working in an Amazon warehouse for about half the salary.)

The worker was then asked if he would recommend a career as a garbage collector to others. "Honestly, I would man just cause the pay is pretty competitive and the hours, there's a lot of work here. If you're into working overtime and everything like that..." you can do really well. Plus..."Really good benefits, I can't complain."

Watch the whole interview here.

@laneape.co
Spoke with @theonlymemoo, a CR&R driver making $28-$33/hr 🚛 He says the job has long hours, good benefits, and he recommends it. Crazy story? A coworker found a body in a trash enclosure right before the holidays. Could you handle this job? ⬇️ #TruckDriverLife #WasteManagement #CareerInsights #WorkLifeStories #garbagedisposal #sanitation #garbageman #garbagetruck #garbageart #dumpster #dumpsterdive #trashtalk #drivers #driverjobs #drivingjobs #wasteman #doublebubble #overtime #overtimehours #trades #tradesman #tradesmen #sixfigureincome #trucker #truckerlife #truckersoftiktok #truckers #truckertok #truckerslife #truckertiktok #truckerhat #truckergirl #truckerwife #trucking #truckinglife #truckin #truckinaround #truckingindustry #truckinglifestyle #truckingaround #truckingcompany #truckingfamily #cdl #cdllife #cdldriver #cdlschool #cdltruckdriver #classB

Other sanitation workers were quick to verify: Being a garbage collector is tough work, but it definitely doesn't stink.

Some commenters pointed out that making $100k per year in California isn't much, but the one nice thing about working in sanitation is that you can do it almost anywhere, and it's a solid career pretty much everywhere you turn.

"42$ an hour in Seattle I made 155k last year lots of over time," one user wrote.

Someone commented that he makes $50/hour as a garbage collector in San Francisco. A user from Houston claimed $30/hour. A man from Illinois quotes $43/hour.

garbage truck picking up trash on the street Photo by Ewoud Van den Branden on Unsplash

Garbage collectors who work for the city can also get government benefits and retirement, plus these workers can get union representation to protect their jobs, salaries, and benefits. There's also plentiful opportunity for overtime which can be worth 1.5x the usual hourly wage. But perhaps most importantly of all, what the job may lack in flash in sizzle, it more than makes up for in real-world impact.

Who wouldn't want to make our streets and communities cleaner!?

In a recent Reddit thread, a 24-year-old asked if he should be embarrassed about his job as a trash collector. The top response read: "Dude, I work for a health insurance company that makes it's profit by denying people life saving care. I'm ashamed of my job. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, you do honest work that benefits your community. I would love to tell people I worked in sanitation."

Blue-collar jobs where you get your hands dirty, so to speak, are widely viewed as less desirable than high-paying white collar jobs like computer programmer, consultant, or accountant. But that's starting to change.

Data shows more and more young people are going directly into the workforce or trade school and foregoing volatile technology-based careers.

Working for the postal service, driving for UPS, collecting garbage, or getting into a skilled trade like electrical or plumbing may not be glamorous, wealth-making careers; but if you're willing to work hard, they can provide you a really nice standard of living.

That's how jobs should work! If working 60 hours per week isn't for you, that's OK and understandable — but if you don't mind sacrificing for long hours, there should be a solid reward at the end, and at least in the case of garbage collectors, it sounds like there is. If you're looking for a career change and the ship has sailed on you becoming a world-renown rocket scientist, it's probably not too late to get your Class B driver's license and start picking up trash.

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Family

Real dads share 13 infuriatingly simple things they get praised for

"The bar for being a 'good dad' is low."

Derek Owens & Natalie Kinnear/Unsplash

Any dad who has young kids knows you can't take them anywhere without being complimented by strangers. It could be the park, the grocery store, or a foreign country. Anywhere you go, you're bound to hear it: "What a great dad, look at you! These kids are so lucky."

Don't get me wrong, the compliments feel amazing! It's only later that you stop and think how weird it is to get praised for doing the absolute bare minimum. Just being physically present and near your children is enough to be called a great dad, apparently. Dads are taking to social media to talk about this strange phenomenon. In a viral social media thread, guys are sharing simple, mundane moments with their kids when strangers pulled them aside to tell them how amazing they were doing.

1. Playing dress up

Wearing a funny hat, a wig, or letting your daughters paint your nails is about one of the easiest, silliest things you could possibly do. Yet it's often found worthy of praise!

"Yesterday we had my daughter's birthday at an indoor playground. She got a very nice tiara from her grandma that she wore to the party and looked like a princess. We went into the play area and she took it off and handed it to me so she wouldn't break it. I just put it on my head because, where else does a tiara go. Completely forgot about it. 15 minutes later some mom and grandma come sit next to us and instantly look at me. The grandma asks what bet I lost to have to wear it in public. I laughed and said being a dad. The mom then praised me for being a good dad, her husband wouldn't never do that, especially in public. They were so impressed that I wasn't ashamed or something," one Redditor wrote.

2. Changing a diaper

baby with diaper inside crib Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

Changing a baby's diapers is like parenting 101. It's a fundamental task of the first couple of years. Yet it's sadly way too common (especially in generations past) for dads to opt out completely.

"I have a 7 week old as of Friday and my in laws were impressed that I feed and change her. I was like seriously. Feels like a basic thing," another dad wrote.

3. Feeding

Ditto on feeding. Are you really a "great dad" for giving your baby a bottle? Or are you just doing the basics?

"When my daughter was about six months old we flew to CA for my grandma’s 95th birthday. At some point I was sitting feeding her a bottle and my dad asked my Grandma what she thought seeing me feeding my daughter. She said it was nice because she’s never seen a dad do that before," a dad said in the thread.

4. Literally just talking to children

A man having any positive interaction at all with young children? *applause*

"Sometimes people will tell me that they think I'll be such a good dad, simply because at family functions, I will sit there and talk to the kids and listen to their goofy kid stories and play with them. I only do it because people did it for me when I was young and I feel like it helped make me more personable and confident in talking to people. ... I don't feel like it's anything special, but apparently that's the mark of a good dad," another guy added.

5. Grocery shopping with the kids

Not only is it apparently unheard of for a dad to take the kids out in public alone, but to buy groceries for the family? Incredible!

"I take my kids to the grocery store all the time. Every time I do some old boomer lady wants to throw me a parade cause her husband / father / grandfather would never do those things," one dad noticed.

6. Cooking

man cutting vegetables Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

If you're a dad and you can make anything other than Kraft mac n' cheese, you may be eligible for a major international award.

A mom chimed in on this one to say, "Mom here. But this is what my husband does every week with our daughter. He does most the cooking. Because he is much better at it. He also is far better at sticking to the grocery list than me. ... But this one definitely gets the two of them plenty of comments about how wonderful he is to take care of his child."

7. Doing laundry and cleaning

Didn't you know that laundry and cleaning are 'woman's work'? If any dad lifts a finger in this area, he's automatically a hero.

"My wife was out of town three days and nights this past weekend, and my mother came over to see the kids. She heard the washing machine and asked what that noise was; I said I was doing laundry. She said, 'You're doing laundry and everything else for them?' Like, yeah. [What] do you mean? Kids will wear soiled underwear and not eat dinner?" one dad wrote.

8. Playing with kids at the park

Going to the park is the easiest, laziest way to get the kids out of the house and off your case for a while.

"Even just taking them to the park, I get a lot of 'oh my husband would never take them to the park he couldn't handle it.' You just gotta show up and be present," a father noted.

9. Going on vacation with the kids alone

To be fair, this one is a lot of work and is definitely a sign of a capable dad! But moms do this kind of thing all the time and rarely get a word of praise for it.

"I’m a full time single dad. I took my daughter to Florida last summer. At a water park, my little girl made friends with a couple other kids. The other kids mom asked me where my daughter’s mom was, I told her we were divorced. She was shocked that I had taken my daughter on vacation all by myself with no help from mom. The vibe she gave off about it kind of pissed me off," another dad said.

10. Showing up to practice

Taking kids to swim or soccer practice, while hectic on the schedule, is pretty easy! Usually you just have to sit there and read a book or catch up on work for an hour.

"I get so much credit from mums around me because I'm at all the dance classes and performances," one dad begrudgingly noticed.

11. Doing bedtime

When people tell me I'm an amazing dad for brushing my kids' teeth and reading them a story, what they don't know is I'm really just trying to get them to bed so I can relax.

boy in blue shirt brushing teeth Photo by Shalev Cohen on Unsplash

"I took my kids down to visit my sister last year for a few days; my mam is staying with her and the kids love their granny. The wife stayed home because our dog was sick, so I was flying solo. Bedtime came, and I'm going through the routine we've had since they were born - teeth brushed, washed and dressed, then bed. They're 13 and 10, so they know the drill, I was just reminding them offhandedly as they were running around her house. My sister turns to me and says, 'you're a good dad; our dad wouldn't have bothered doing any of that,'" a dad wrote.

12. Being involved in medical emergencies

"My 1yo son was in the hospital for a couple days after getting the flu and RSV which set off his asthma. I got called a good dad for being in the hospital with him overnight. The bar is way too low," a baffled father wrote.

I mean, where else would you be?!

13. "Babysitting"

If you're out flying solo with the kids, you must be giving mom a break. Kudos to you for keeping everyone alive until the boss gets back!

"The number of positive compliments I received for 'babysitting' my daughter when simply walking her in the pram was astounding. It happened almost every day?!" a dad said.

You can look at this phenomenon as a good thing. Dads spend more time with their kids than in the past, that's just a fact. Overall, we're more hands-on, more nurturing, and more involved. People, especially from older generations, aren't used to seeing it just yet and can't help but be impressed. That's a good thing and a sign of positive change!

But there is a dark side to these well-meaning compliments. At times they can feel backhanded, like they stem from a very low opinion of what dads are actually capable of. Wow you put your little girl's hair in a ponytail all by yourself without mom's help, amazing! Dads can sometimes be treated like stand-in or temporary caretakers, just holding down the fort until mom can get there. For fathers who really want to do their best, that's not a good feeling.

We just have to keep raising the bar little by little, generation by generation, until people stop being surprised when they see a dad doing a half-decent job.

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dads

Kids

13-year-old's bucket list is the perfect blueprint for an adventurous life

If you ever wanted to own a cool jeep or discover a fossil when you were a kid, this is your reminder that it's not too late.

EarSubstantial9362/Reddit & Nico Aguilera/Flickr

A bucket list is usually something people start thinking about toward the end of their lives, or sometimes in the crisis-filled middle. You become more aware of your mortality and more determined than ever not to waste your remaining days. Most commonly, you see people wanting to travel more and see the world, experience adrenaline-filled adventures like skydiving or deep sea scuba diving, or capture major human milestones like falling in love or becoming a parent.

Just imagine if we started on those lists earlier, how much we could accomplish! One dad recently discovered that his 13-year-old son had been keeping a bucket list. He couldn't resist posting it online and now the wacky, hilarious list is going viral.

Highlights include:

Discover a new species
Save a species
Prove the existence of goblins
And purchase a full taxidermy alligator

Safe to say that if this kid really pulls all of this off, he'll grow up to be the Most Interesting Man in the World: An eclectic and well-traveled cool dude who loves animals (except for the octopi, sorry guys), has major Hollywood connections, and rides around in an awesome jeep with his best friend, a binturong.

Here's the full list, currently sitting at 20 items.

My personal favorite is that the kid wants to know what it feels like to beat someone up! Very Fight Club of him. Hopefully if he ever gets the chance, it'll be a baddie who deserves it.

Online users found the list endlessly entertaining, and kindly shared some tips for how the kid could actually make his dreams come true.

For example, according to one kind citizen, apparently there's a spot where you can pay to dig up fish fossils in Wyoming. That's number 15 done and dusted!

He could definitely befriend a binturong (a fascinating mammal that looks like a cross between a bear and a cat) with a journey to Southeast Asia. So there's number 6.

Taxidermy alligator? Amazon, two-day shipping. Number 1 done.

Anyone with a computer or phone can start a YouTube channel, and practically every major city in the world has a Japanese restaurant where you can order octopus.

Dad said his son wants to change his name to "Trevor Bartholomew Dunglepants." He may want to sit on that one for a few years before making a rash decision, but when he's ready, all it takes is a little paperwork.

The entire list is completely doable with the possible exceptions of "become a billionaire" or "meet an alien." Users encouraged dad to help his son achieve as many of his bucket list items as possible.

"Don't let his dreams be memes," one person wrote.

"May his life be as adventurous as his bucket list!!!" wrote another.

Pomax/Flickr

It's kind of inspiring that as random, chaotic, and bizarre as many of these bucket list items are, they are totally achievable for the most part.

Kind of makes you wonder... are you dreaming big enough?

One user summed it up perfectly. "As someone who no longer thinks they could write one of these because I've stripped away so much aspiration and replaced it all with 'let's be realistic,' foster this. Do not let him lose that source of light that's so uniquely his- shaped like him in a cool jeep full of fossils, driving to beat up a goblin."

I think an interesting question to ask yourself from time to time is: Would your younger self be proud of you?

lizard fossil in sand Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

All of us at one point or another wanted to be professional athletes, firefighters, brain surgeons, or astronauts. We wanted to live in a house made of gold or candy and have a pet unicorn. In most cases, it probably didn't work out that way. But that's OK, that's life! Our dreams as a child aren't always possible, or even a good reflection of what we really want as fully formed humans.

But sometimes we're onto something when we're younger. We are the purest versions of ourselves and mostly uncorrupted by the things that weigh us down as grown ups. Try to remember that when you're making your own bucket list. Yeah, eating fresh pasta in Italy is cool, but have you ever ridden on the back of a whale? Surfed on lava flowing out of an active volcano? Written, directed, and starred in your own movie about your life?

You might be surprised to find out what's actually not nearly as impossible as you might think!

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Joy

NFL kicker's OCD was on display seconds before game-winning kick and it earned him new fans

The kick led to a big win for the Commanders and a big win for the OCD community.

Photo by Anders Krøgh Jørgensen on Unsplash

Zane Gonzalez hasn't had the most glamorous NFL career. Getting drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns in 2017 was a great start for a well-decorated college kicker, but after a few critical misses led to his release, he's bounced around the league and struggled to stick with any team. That was all set to change, though, as his Washington Commanders (his sixth team in about as many years) recently called on him to make what would be a game-winning, life-changing kick in a playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

To the naked eye, Gonzalez looked extremely nervous as he readied himself for the attempt. The camera showed him fidgeting endlessly with his socks, and then smoothing his hair repeatedly as he walked onto the field. He'd pat it down and place his helmet on, only to remove it, smooth his hair down again, and repeat the process over again. The cameras caught it all, and NFL fans were left wondering: What's going on with Zane Gonzalez?

Moments later, the ball was snapped, Gonzalez made his approach, and BOOM — he nailed the kick, miraculously bouncing it off the upright and through for the game-winning points! It would be the highlight of his NFL career to date, by a wide margin.

— (@)

People were confused by Gonzalez's hair-smoothing routine. Was he nervous? Or just trying to look his best for the camera?

"Zane Gonzalez needs to take a hit before going on the field," one X user joked. "Dude is in his head."

"How many times did zane gonzalez fix his hair," wrote another. "No wonder he almost missed!" someone added.

The real reason behind Gonzalez's odd pre-kick behavior is much more complicated: He has OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and has talked openly about it in the past.

The recent playoff game was many people's first introduction to Gonzalez, but anyone who's watched a Commanders game this season is quite familiar with his hair smoothing and sock-fidgeting ways. They're tics — compulsive, repetitive behaviors associated with disorders like OCD or Tourette's, anxiety, stress, etc.

— (@)

Gonzalez has discussed his OCD with the media before. He says it comes with major challenges, but on the football field, it can become a bit of a superpower.

"It affected me a lot more as a young kid. ... It’s just little thoughts, little funny habits that I do," he said in an interview.

“I’ve done a lot of research on it. Specifically, sometimes I rinse my hands before kicks. ... And I was kind of curious about that. But that’s one of the most common things that people with OCD do. It instantly makes you just feel relieved. I don’t know why, if it’s just a placebo effect. It’s not something I love having. But it just is what it is, and I’ve learned to deal with it.”

Being a kicker in the NFL requires unimaginable precision, and many players rely on routines, rituals, and repetition to be at their best. Gonzalez says that, in that sense, his OCD helps.

"It makes you a perfectionist and more detail oriented," Gonzalez said. "Off the field, it's a pain in the butt."

People with OCD were inspired by Gonzalez's clutch performance.

OCD is one of those therapy words we all misuse. It's common for people to joke about "being OCD" because they're a perfectionist or like things clean.

And that can be one part of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But in reality it can be a debilitating disorder in the day to day, and can also cause things like intrusive thoughts, paralyzing anxiety, and major fear or dirt or germs.

The fact that Gonzalez has overcome all of that to perform at football's highest levels gained him a ton of respect in the eyes of many.

— (@)

"As a fellow OCDer, shoutout to Zane for getting it done. Those tics can be a real [pain] sometimes" wrote sports journalist Pete Hailey.

"Shoutout to Zane Gonzalez for sharing his story with OCD. It’s a tough thing to share, but my battles have shaped me into the personal I am today. So I have zero shame or hesitancy in sharing what I’ve battled throughout my life," said sports writer Sean Paul.

It's tough to find positive OCD representation in sports and media. There are a lot of misconceptions about the disorder (again, having OCD rarely has anything to do with being a neat freak!), and beyond that, it's not something that's easy to see with the naked eye. It can be hidden and masked with some effort. Gonzalez's tics and rituals being on full-display in front of a playoff audience of millions of people was a powerful moment that had a huge impact on others in the OCD community. Lucky for all of us, we get to watch him play for at least one more week this season!

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Parenting

A dad posted his 5-year-old's paintings online and couldn't believe the huge response

Kudos to this dad for helping to unlock his son's impressive talent.

Unsplash & bruncvik/reddit

Joseph, a dad from Dublin, Ireland says he started drawing and painting in the evenings about a year ago to help him unwind from work. It's a great idea, because adult coloring has been shown to have a ton of positive mental health effects. Plus, it's fun! But one unintended and adorable side effect of Joseph's coloring was that his young son, Philip, decided he wanted to emulate him.

Philip had always loved coloring but, Joseph says, "I had to get him some pastels, and he started trying on the same drawings as I did," Joseph says. "I found it absolutely adorable when he was seriously repeating the same movements as me: cleaning the tips of the pastels, blend the edges of colors, etc."

One thing quickly became apparent: Philip was much, much better than his old man.

"About a month ago, he made a painting that was so good I had to share it on Reddit. Within two days, it generated over 100,000 views and 3000 likes."

The overwhelming response? "Uh, 5-year-olds can't do that."

bruncvik/reddit

The first piece Philip shared is wildly impressive. Some commenters couldn't believe that a 5-year-old could have made it, but I think you can see it pretty clearly. It has just enough childlike crudeness, but the stylistic flair is just off the charts, from the whispy sky to the slightly foreboding trees. Redditors agreed that it was incredible.

"Thats better than I can do now at 25," one Reddit user wrote.

Others questioned whether the boy might be related to Bob Ross.

"I told [Philip] about it, and I guess that was his first big dopamine hit," Joseph says of going viral. "Since then, he is asking to draw more often, and there's often an intrinsic reward for him. One painting got submitted to a charity auction at his school ... I don't pressure him to draw; he's coming to me to ask whether he can use my pastels"

One critical part of the story is that Philip often follows along with YouTube videos that his dad finds for him. Lest you think this should diminish how impressive the painting is, quite the contrary. As someone with an almost-5-year-old of my own, I've seen the kind of stuff kids this age are capable of drawing — and it's not this! No matter how much instruction they have.

The structured YouTube videos were able to unlock Philip's natural talent and guide him in a way that his dad never could.

Here's the finished painting he was following along with. Honestly? I like Philip's better! It has a lot more personality.

She'z ART/YouTube

The response to Philip's first painting was so positive that his dad decided to post another piece.

You gotta give the people what they want!

I love this one, too. The youngster's talent is on display again, with an excellent color palette and aggressive strokes giving it life. Remember — the kid is five years old! Five! Usually they can barely muster a convincing stick figure.

bruncvik/reddit

And again, here's the model painting from YouTube. Joseph said his own versions of these paint-alongs come out looking a lot like the example, but that his son has an incredible way of making them his own.

She'z ART/YouTube

Philip's dad gives a lot of thought to the right way to nurture his son's talent without pushing too hard and snuffing it out.

"He attended an afterschool art club, where they experimented with different media, but he found it too restrictive. He is still bringing home new art at least twice per week, but it's something he does on his own," dad says, not sure if pushing his son into formal art instruction is the right thing to do.

Experts say that pushing too hard when your kid shows a flair for something, especially regarding longterm goals (like going to art school or becoming a professional artist one day), can backfire big time and make them feel overwhelmed and resentful.

Joseph finds other ways to encourage his son's interest.

"One thing I do with him, though, is to talk about painting when we are out and about. Last weekend, we went to watch the sunset, and I asked him what colors he'd use for the clouds. ... Philip is just as obsessed with different shades (his current favorite word is 'vermilion' and his favorite color is 'turquoise'), and how they mix."

Being the parent of a talented or gifted kid is no easy job. There are a lot of pitfalls and plenty of ways to bungle your attempts to nurture that talent. As impressive as Philip's artwork is, especially for his age, the thoughtful parenting on display in this story is just as awesome.

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