With my wife's career , I have had the opportunity to live in two states in my new role. That being said, I have also had to introduce myself to two new groups of friends. This brings about an interesting dynamic for the stay at home dad as well as those that are meeting me for the first time.
It only takes a few meetings before the other guys in the neighborhood see me at the bus stop in my sweats and a hat and eventually the question comes out. " So Pete, what do you do? " My first crack at the question was an ultimate fail, I stammered and could not come up with the response that would leave me looking confident. It was almost like I was trying not to admit the reality. For those of you that know me, you know I do not lack confidence and sometimes err on the side of cocky...:) It took a few times, and some practice, but the response not flows off the tongue like magic...." I am the Senior VP of Household Operations!!" This usually gets a chuckle or two and gives me the opportunity to look like the master of my domain. No, I am not Mr Mom, I am not Daddy Day Care, I am an SVP and you need to respect the role.
I usually get one of two responses and usually it just depends on the confidence of the individual asking as to which way it goes. If I am face to face with the typical guys guy( or so he thinks) I get the " Oh, man you get to watch ESPN all day, take naps and check out all the Moms at the PTA meetings" ....uh, no! Or I get the rare response of " Man that's pretty cool, wish I could do that !"
To the majority, this job is not nearly what you think. It's demanding, it is thankless and most of all has no start time and stop time. Like most of you, you get to go to an office or pretend to be on "calls" for the majority of the day and when the day is over you get to go home, claim to be tired and hit the couch. Me, I start at 6:30 in the morning and go until about 10 at night. When the kids need something its always "Daddy", when they throw up, its "Daddy ", when they wanna watch a movie, well you get the point. I am not complaining, it's awesome to be needed and wanted, but the next time you are about to tell me I sleep all day and watch ESPN, please don't!!! I gave my friends a word of advice which none of them followed. I told them that when they get home from their 3 day "business trips" to give their wives a hug and say thanks. I told them they have no idea what they are going through on a daily basis. They all laughed when I said it and said " Dude, your nuts, I bring home the bacon, they got it easy". It's that type of mentality that leads to the 70% divorce rate in this country!! The next time you have a business trip that lasts longer than 2 days, come home with flowers or a thank you card. Just something that says your not a college frat guy that just ate like a king, drank like a fish and "worked " in Vegas for the last few days !! Trust me it will go a long way and may even put you in good favor if you know what I mean ; ) !!
So the next time you meet a guy and he tells you he's a stay at home dad, don't judge, and don't hate. I drink beer, watch football and workout seven days a week. The difference is I do laundry clean the house and take care of two girls and a ten pound dog. I am the SVP of Household Ops and I'm proud of it. The new Sportscenter is on so I gotta go.
Make it a great one !
Love it!!
ReplyDelete