Eric Rippy can remember the exact moment something needed to change.
The Putnam County father admits it can be traced back to when he identified himself as living "mindlessly as a father."
"I was on my laptop at 7 p.m. working as my 4-year-old daughter was trying to get my attention for something. Without even glancing up at this angel, I kept saying, "Just one more minute baby, daddy is almost done." As she walked away with her head hanging, I immeditately became aware of the situation," Rippy told The Putnam County Post.
Rippy said at that moment, he realized he was putting his daughter second to a job that he had been away from for over two hours at that point.
"As I shut my laptop and followed her to her Minnie Mouse table, I realized that my then three-and-a-half daughter was trying to show me that she had just written her name for the first time every by herself. I was devastated at my actions, and knew right then that I was not a bad parent, I was just not living mindfully, but living mindlessly," he admitted.
That moment got him thinking about how many other fathers were repeating the same behaviors, telling themselves the behavior was okay because they were trying to give their kids a better life than they had.
"I knew I had to do something to combat this complacency and mindless lifestyle, while bringing an awareness to these good fathers, bringing them together and making them all great fathers," Rippy said.
What he did was create "Project Fatherhood," which kikcked off on October 8. The project consists of four chapters that Rippy wrote, and the first one is communication.
"You have to do the course to learn the other three chapters," he said.
Rippy said he will facilitate the program four times a year and all a father has to do is reach out to him.
"As for why they should do it, it's simple, don't push your most valuable accomplishment to the side for a job that would replace you in 20 minutes. Our most valuable possession in this world, as husbands and dads, is time. How will you use it," Rippy said.
For more information on Project Fatherhood, reach out Rippy on Facebook.