11 Questions with… Matthew Tully
29 Oct 2018
Welcome to “11 Questions with…”. This edition’s guest is Matthew Tully.
I met Matthew at a conference in 2016, but we have been following each other on social for a few years. He has the distinct pleasure of having a job that requires safely driving a bus-load of children to and from school. As well, Matthew is a fellow Canadian Dad blogger, a rare commodity above the 49th parallel.
Enjoy!
11 Questions with… Matthew Tully
1. Elevator pitch… tell us about yourself.
My name is Matthew Tully. I am a married dad and Maritimer from Cape Breton, now living in Greater Moncton, New Brunswick with my wife Sherri and daughter Cadence. I am both a full time school bus driver, as well as owner/operator of a family lifestyle blog at answerthetullyphone.ca. In life, people are very lucky to find a job they love, and I’ve been blessed with two! I can’t deny the fact Sherri and Cadence help with the blog in areas that interest them, or we do as a family unit, but it’s mostly my baby.
2. Your spouse… tell us about her.
Sherri is amazing. I know it’s easy to say because she is my wife, but she truly is. She has unfortunately suffered for years with depression, which can be quite debilitating, and has both good days and bad. She keeps me grounded, pushes me to think outside the box and has made me a better person in more ways than I can express.
3. Your kids… tell us about them.
Oh wow! Our daughter Cadence… I’d truly like to say she’s daddy’s girl, and maybe in some ways she is, but I’d have to agree she is not. That being said, she is a happy, healthy, fantastic young girl. She has been a pleasure to raise, and couldn’t imagine it any other way. She loves gaming, art, hitting the trampoline alone or with a friend and is totally growing up way faster than this dad likes to see.
4. Do you have any pets? Tell us about them.
We do! Currently 2 cats and a hamster! At one time we had three cats and 5 or 6 hamsters as well as a bunny or guinea pig. We are animal lovers and I can’t see time passing without having a furry companion in our home. Our black cat Pepper is so affectionate and a little nutty at times, where Booboo is more reserved with her age and will allow a pet here and there. The hamster(s), well the current one is not as friendly as you would like, but he’s (Finn) pretty cute.
5. What have been your biggest challenges as a parent?
Breaking the barrier as to what Cadence is allowed to do as she ages has been a challenge. I wouldn’t say I’m overprotective, (although I’m more protective in a dad sense) but times are changing. Society is letting children do things and have accessibility to things we were not allowed to as children, and it scares the hell out of me. I weigh the pros and cons of what it is and decide from there how she would cope.
6. If you could pick any career in the world for yourself, what would it be, and why?
Honestly, between the sense of value I get from both the jobs I do and where our website has taken me, I can’t see doing anything else.
7. Growing up, who inspired you the most?
That’s a tough one. I’d have to say my parents, to be honest. They were extremely hard working people and made sure that we had everything we needed, and on occasion, some of what we wanted. They instilled respect, honesty, humbleness and to truly treat others the way you would like to be treated, no strings attached.
8. How do you balance work life and family life?
That’s thankfully the easy part most of the time. My regular work life runs while Cadence is in school and we have summer as a family together. We enjoy very much the same things like outdoors camping, gaming, art and so much more.
9. What advice would your “current self” give to your “just about to have my first child” self?
“Take your time, things are just things”. I learned this before it was too late, but some find out when they can’t get the time back. Children are precious and you want to be part of everything in their lives. Working hard to provide for your family, but don’t let working hard for the family and working hard for THINGS cloud your judgement and take away time you can’t get back.
10. Has there been a piece of advice you were given about parenting that really stuck with you?
In the end friends come and go, family always HAS to be number one, and it starts with YOU. My father told me this when I was a young man.
11. What advice would you give to new parents?
Don’t rush it! Do it today! (Kind of sounds like opposites right?) What I mean is don’t rush the way you live your life, and in the same breath, do things together today. Tomorrow isn’t here yet and I’m in no hurry for it to come, because truly I don’t know if it will. Advice is great, get lots, then do what works for you and NOT because that’s what everyone else is doing. Share with your children, be open with your love, respect, honesty in front of your children, and keep adult matters / problems away from them.
Get social with Matthew Tully!
Be sure to visit Matthew’s blog, and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Stay tuned for our next “11 Questions with…” feature.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Big Daddy
“11 Questions with…” is an on-going feature. I will be interviewing parents with the same 11 questions, who like me, live in the digital world. The goal is to examine different perspectives, advice, challenges, and experiences from how people parent their children, and live a successful work / life / online balance.
There will be no specific frequency for this feature. It will be on-going, and filed under the “Lifestyle” tab, then “11 Questions with…” subtab, so it is easy to find.
With all the challenges of parenting these days, we could all use stories from fellow parents, who may have already gone through a similar experience, or were offered advice that you could use.
If you would like to be interviewed for an upcoming edition, please contact me at craig@bigdaddykreativ.ca.
Craig Silva
Craig is a husband, a father, team leader, travel and food writer, senior youth group coordinator, designer, brander, community builder, volunteer, and social media strategist. Craig likes to travel, go camping, go on road trips, watch movies, build stuff, operate the grill, and sing with his band. Craig is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada. In June 2017, PR firm Cision identified Craig as one of Canada’s top 10 most popular male bloggers in the parents and family space.
