Stay at Home Parenting

The last two days, I've had a taste of stay being a stay at home parent of a school aged child. It's awesome! I drop the kid off at day care, come home, and have peace and quite for about 6 hours until it's time to pick kid up from daycare.

Being a stay at home parent with pre school aged kids is a different story (unless the working spouse makes to pat daycare costs then that would be in the awesome zone.) 

Every parent should have to spend extended time as a stay at home parent. Otherwise, it's just unfair.

The summer of 2019, I stayed home most of my summer break from teaching. It wasn't too bad from what I remember now. But I took a 3 week vacation to Oregon with the kid, and at the time we lived within an hour from the in-laws.

The last six months, I was the stay at home spouse. Making matters worse, the working spouse works 60-80 hours a week with fluctuating day and night shifts. It's miserable at times. I'm not joking, even though it is funny, I thought I was going to literally lose my mind a couple times. My behavior was worse than the toddlers. Most of the time it's varying forms of tedium. After a couple months, it was worse than being a teacher, which is pretty bad.

So reader, how do you know I'm not just ranting and being a whiny liberal? Well, my daughter is in daycare, and I started subbing for $105 a day before taxes. So babysitting other kids, so I can pay someone to babysit mine. Haha, poetic justice???

Anyways, with this week being winter break, I get to feel the nirvana of being a stay at home parent of school aged kids. I could get used to this.

The dishes are done; the house is mostly clean; the dog got a nice long walk on the beach and is passed out; and I get to write a rant. I should have time to workout, read, and play chess before picking up the kid.

So for all you parents who get to work, and don't know what it is like to "watch your own damn babies!" (this is a quote I loved from the novel Jazz by Toni Morrison. I'm using the quote out of context, but it is too good not to use) It's just not fair.