Archive for the ‘Stay-at-Home Dads’ tag
The Stay at Home Dad’s Ego
If you had told me in college that just six years after graduating, I would quit my job to become a full-time parent, I probably would have spit my beer all over you. But now, that story now makes enough sense that I could explain it even to my former, drunken, fratboy self. After six years of work, my IT career had fizzled, burning too fast with youthful ambition after graduation before starving itself for want of meaningful work in the wastelands of a corporate cube farm. By the time my son Carter was born two years ago, I had become a terminally-bored software designer for a mega-bank in Chicago, watching the clock and surfing the internet all day while I did the minimal amount of work to keep my health benefits. Meanwhile my wife, Debbie, had become a successful Realtor who absolutely adored her career, which quickly eclipsed mine in both enthusiasm and earnings potential. So when Carter was born, the decision about who was to take care of him was a no-brainer. Given the state of our respective careers, we decided to defy tradition and I quit my job. As far as the IRS was concerned, I became a Realtor too; I had earned my license the previous fall so I could help Debbie while she was pregnant. Officially I’m her business partner now, but all I really do is keep the books and pinch-hit for double-booked appointments. My real boss wears diapers and thinks his name is “Caca.”
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