You want to do what?!
Posted by Zoe's Dad at Wednesday, March 21, 2007 5:17 PM and is filed under stay at home dad,Children,resolutions,Parenting,Kids 
I'm not really sure how it all happened. This, I do remember. December 31, 1996. 11:57 pm. The nursing staff of the ER had gathered in the casting room with a bottle of
Welch's Sparkling Juice(dude, we were at work and it was a Children's Hospital) in anticipation of the impending arrival of the New Year. I was on my way to Room 21 to administer a milk and molasses enema to Kolon, an ER regular, a kid with Hirschprung's Disease that for reasons I shall never be able to explain, decided that 1997 should start with a cleansing. I learned early on in my nursing career that essential work gear includes: a good watch with a second hand or timer, a really good stethoscope, comfortable shoes and extra scrubs for every shift.
After a quick sink bath and changing into my extra scrubs, I finally was able to meet up with my fellow workers in the casting room. The Welch's was gone and there were only a few crumbs left from the plate of cookies someone had thoughtfully contributed to the celebration. We were well into the New Year. And, as people often do, we began rattling off our resolutions.
Eventually the room's attention turned my way.
So what are you gonna do this year? And then I said it. Out loud. "Maybe not this year but eventually I'm going to have some kids and be a Stay at Home Dad." I actually used those words. I really had no idea what I had just said or why I had confided in the same bunch of people who had just left me to celebrate the grand entrance of the new year with fourteen pounds of Kolon's clogged colon. The room went silent. All eyes on me. Astonishment hardly begins to describe what they must have been thinking. So I just smiled and said, "It's true," and left it at that.
Flash forward. January 1, 2007. 12:35 am. My wife, the unwitting but necessary element to my grand scheme some 10 years earlier, and I are on our way home having just quietly participated in an impromptu gathering at her sisters house to watch the "Ball Drop." As we neared our house I sighed deeply and tried to remember...when was the last time we stayed up past midnight on New Year's Eve? My wife thought a minute and said, "I'm not sure, probably before Zoë was born."
She was right. That was six years and five children ago. And it's been well over 3 years now that I've donned a pair of scrubs. Heck, I didn't even renew my license this past year. Someone told me I was crazy, that in about 6 or 7 years when everyone was in school I would be looking for something to do. I told them I knew exactly what I was gonna be doing. Playing golf!
So this is me. I'm a 42 year old (my son thinks I'm 8) "retired" ER nurse. I have a gorgeous wife, my best friend and mother to our 5 beautiful children. All Z's ages 6, 4, 2, 13 months and 13 months.(Yes, twins. Fraternal.) I'm six years into this gig. That's actually a year and a half longer than I have stuck with any one job my entire life. Do I know what I'm doing? Not yet. Is it easy? Hardest job I've ever had. Is it fun? Most days. Would I do it over if given the choice? In a heartbeat.
The question has changed only slightly, "you do what?!" The answer is still the same. I'm a Stay at Home Dad.
After a quick sink bath and changing into my extra scrubs, I finally was able to meet up with my fellow workers in the casting room. The Welch's was gone and there were only a few crumbs left from the plate of cookies someone had thoughtfully contributed to the celebration. We were well into the New Year. And, as people often do, we began rattling off our resolutions.
Eventually the room's attention turned my way.
So what are you gonna do this year? And then I said it. Out loud. "Maybe not this year but eventually I'm going to have some kids and be a Stay at Home Dad." I actually used those words. I really had no idea what I had just said or why I had confided in the same bunch of people who had just left me to celebrate the grand entrance of the new year with fourteen pounds of Kolon's clogged colon. The room went silent. All eyes on me. Astonishment hardly begins to describe what they must have been thinking. So I just smiled and said, "It's true," and left it at that.
Flash forward. January 1, 2007. 12:35 am. My wife, the unwitting but necessary element to my grand scheme some 10 years earlier, and I are on our way home having just quietly participated in an impromptu gathering at her sisters house to watch the "Ball Drop." As we neared our house I sighed deeply and tried to remember...when was the last time we stayed up past midnight on New Year's Eve? My wife thought a minute and said, "I'm not sure, probably before Zoë was born."
She was right. That was six years and five children ago. And it's been well over 3 years now that I've donned a pair of scrubs. Heck, I didn't even renew my license this past year. Someone told me I was crazy, that in about 6 or 7 years when everyone was in school I would be looking for something to do. I told them I knew exactly what I was gonna be doing. Playing golf!
So this is me. I'm a 42 year old (my son thinks I'm 8) "retired" ER nurse. I have a gorgeous wife, my best friend and mother to our 5 beautiful children. All Z's ages 6, 4, 2, 13 months and 13 months.(Yes, twins. Fraternal.) I'm six years into this gig. That's actually a year and a half longer than I have stuck with any one job my entire life. Do I know what I'm doing? Not yet. Is it easy? Hardest job I've ever had. Is it fun? Most days. Would I do it over if given the choice? In a heartbeat.
The question has changed only slightly, "you do what?!" The answer is still the same. I'm a Stay at Home Dad.
Trackbacks
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007 10:03 PM
Zoe's Dad wrote:
Slowly, yet surely, I am losing my mind. -
Thursday, July 26, 2007 11:05 PM
Zoe's Dad wrote:
Slowly, yet surely, I am losing my mind.
You really need to write a book. Your writing is infectious - I stopped working, in the middle of a tornado watch,and read every word! Your life is so much more interesting than mine, which rivals Groundhog Day.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to share the minutia of my life. I'll try to keep it interesting so as not to disappoint. I'm sure that if I get boring my Zs will bail me out.
Ed
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It is reassuring to know that there are a few of us ‘career SAHD's’ (I hate that term, but for want of a better one) in existence: 4.5 yrs with more to come for me. Not to diminish the value of the very proud dad that choose to take off 9-12mnths between jobs or for parental leave to chand diapers, I would like to echo sentiments of a magnificent achievement towards breaking the isolation/invisibility of most of us in society. (my playgound/date visions with the ‘moms’ was also diluted –I have a theory on that for another day!)
Our touch is that we are raising wonderfully unique and important kids. I have no doubt that children in this movement will in their lives, go on to touch others and society in a very special way.
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Honestly, I'm not all that fond of the term (SAHD) either but until a better one comes along, I suppose we're stuck with it. I, too would like to believe that the lives of my children will be greater enriched by my decision to stay at home with them during these early years. Thank you so much for allowing me to share my life with you. I hope you come back often, and bring your friends.
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Exceptional work there, MrEd. I really enjoyed reading it. Tell the Z's hello for me. kg2
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Thank you so much for stopping by. Consider your greetings relayed.
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aaahhhh!!! What a lovely story. I have 4 girls and a son. Although, mine aren't so close together.
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I bet your son gets tons of sympathy for being the only boy. And I'm with you--five is plenty.
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Hey, appreciate you checking out my blog. I only just realized you have five kids in a six year span! And you stay home! You rock.
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