It doesn’t seem like half a year has already passed since I’ve become a stay-at-home dad, but here I am, stay-at-home daddying (it’s a word) with our precious 8 1/2 month old daughter. I have to keep repeating “precious” to myself as she’s in teething mode and wants to make sure everyone knows.
Her screams get progressively louder as if in competition with herself and she refuses to be outdone. How long do they say this takes? Around two years? Damn.
But, I remember saying goodbye to my office job and hello to my new office a.k.a. home and how much better I felt. Needless to say, I’ll gladly to listen to screams over getting on another conference call to discuss the “how’s” and “who’s” of whatever was going on at the time.
I’ll stop there since I could easily get myself “worked” (ha ha ha) up and blab on about my despise of having a desk job. We aren’t made to sit so long and be so sedentary as we……oh, crap….see, I’m still doing it!
Anyway, life as a stay-at-home dad started off slow with a baby who could only eat, poop, pee, cry, and sometimes smile. Luckily, babies experience rapid growth and Avery is surprising us with new skills/abilities almost every week!
Now at almost 9 months old, she’s a very mobile crawler showing signs that walking isn’t too far away.
I know everyone says that’s when I start to go crazy because I’ll always have to watch her, but I’m still excited. Before I know it, we’ll be able to wrestle, play outside, and go on (short) hikes.
Going Mom has to remind not to get ahead of myself and try things too soon. What? Is it that bad when I get on the ground and push our baby in an attempt to wrestle now?
Oh….okay then, I’ll ease up.
I know I have a more meaningful role now than I did when employed, and am ever so grateful we are able to make this work for our small family.
I’m extremely grateful for my lovely wife who goes in to work each day and handles various situations way better than I ever did/could. Then, when the workday is done, she comes home and helps deal with whatever is going on with Avery. Thank, Kelley, you are appreciated more than words can describe!
Speaking of, although I’m happier and more proud as a stay-at-home dad than my old job, I do miss one thing; my wife. Yep, we worked for the same company, in the same building, and even in the same office.
I was the only person in the building with a desk converted to standing and I could look over and see her desk not far away. We would talk to each other through the company’s internal messaging service and visit each other’s desks frequently.
Very rarely would we miss a day of going on a walk together around the nearby trails before having our lunch. There were times when we would give each other notes or share a laugh at an inside joke no one else understood.
My wife is my best friend, and now I don’t get to see her as much as when we worked together. I miss her, I miss our walks, and I miss being able to walk over to her for no better reason than to just say “hi.”
The good thing is that our relationship has grown even stronger since I’ve become a stay-at-home dad. Gone are the days of me stressing over work and letting it drag me down at home; now the time I do see her means more and we both recognize it. Sure we still have are disagreements like any couple, but they’re (usually) over fast and we get on with life.
So, in the end, it’s a worthy trade-off we are both happy with and it seems to be working for our family of three. I still go on a daily walk, but with Avery, and again with both of my girls if time is permitting.
Yes, I’m still adjusting to the stay-at-home life, but after 6 months, I feel good about our decision and am ready to continue down this path of daily obstacles and adventure.
Do you or would you ever consider working in the same office as your spouse?
Have you been both an employee and a stay-at-home parent? Which one are you now and what do you prefer?
