Thursday 27 September 2012

The Joy of the Stay-At-Home Daddy

Happy Thursday!!

For the past 34 weeks I have experienced something that every father should experience - the joy of staying home with his family.  Just over 8 months ago my wife and I welcomed our third daughter to the world.  Living in the wonderful country that I do (go Canada!), I had the opportunity to take a semi-paid leave of absence from my job to remain home for 35 weeks.  35 wonderful weeks!!  The bonus of my situation is that my wife is a stay-at-home mom and so we were both at home for that time.

I have a great job and am in the early stages of my career.  So the decision to put all of that on hold (not to mention giving up nearly half my salary) was met with raised brows, tilted heads and not a little bewilderment and trepidation by some.  However my wife and I hold strong convictions about the value of our family and so, for us, it was an easy decision.

First off 35 weeks is nothing when put in perspective of a 30+ year career.  I'm not going to miss those 35 weeks of work.  But that time spent with my family is invaluable especially in the early, formative years of my girls' lives.  When will I have an opportunity to spend so much time with my family?  The next time I'm able to do this might be when I retire.  By then my girls will be all grown up, our relationship pretty much established and they probably will have more pressing things to attend to than spending time with their old man.  

And while us spouses who work outside the home sometimes think we have the hard part and believe we understand the challenges and significance of the stay-at-home parent, until you experience it first hand, you can't fully appreciate it. Here's to my wife who does this all the time!

In the past, I have said that we were lucky to be able to take this time - but really luck had very little to do with it.  We made a choice, planned accordingly and sacrificed when needed.  I understand not every father is able to take such a leave...but if it is available to you, then you really should try it.  Take the word of another father - you will not regret it!!


4 comments:

  1. It was worth every penny - this life is "but a breath" Job 7:7

    You will never regret the moments spent with your little ones.

    What a blessing it has been for all of us ot have you around.

    k

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  2. My kids are now 14 and 12...I gave my oldest his first driving lesson this week. Wow did that ever sneak up on me. When your kids are first born everyone tells you time will blow by...I wish I had listened better. I so wish I could have...scratch that...I so wish I had taken a leave when they were younger. Great post.

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  3. Thanks for commenting, good to hear from you.

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  4. I couldn't agree more, parental was the best time of my life.

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