life from a to z
Today I made it official. I'm no longer employed and will be spending full time as a stay at home dad. Of course, it's been the reality for a while now, but turning in my State Department ID definitely put a note of officialdom to it.
As those of you know who've talked to us about it over the past few months, this was a difficult decision but one about which we're very confident. Daycare is available, of course, but we weren't happy with any of the options and the compromises it requires. What did make us happy was the idea of me staying home to raise Arden, so that's the plan for the time being.
So far it's going very well, though I can't take full credit. The fact that Arden is so agreeable makes this a particularly easy experience. Sure, there are challenges, but I can only imagine how much harder it would be if he wasn't so happy all the time, didn't zonk out predictably in the car, or needed constant holding throughout the day. It's not that he never cries, but it's pretty much always for a reason that I can eventually figure out (tired, hungry, wants to be held).
I'm planning to go to lots of playgroups and other activities to keep both of us from getting bored, but I haven't done much so far. Between the steamy hot Washington DC summer and the fact that Arden is too little to really care, there isn't much motivation yet. Sure, we can go to the park, but he doesn't find it any more exciting than a walk to the post office. And though there are lots of parks to walk to nearby, I can't check email at the park. (If only we lived near Bryant park in New York: http:// www.bryantpark.org.) And did I mention that it's hot and sticky? One outing is usually enough to wear us both out. But Arden loves to watch kids at play and to meet new people, so I'm trying to give him a good amount of that. I've also linked up with DC Metro Dads (http://www.dcmetrodads.com), a group of Stay At Home Dads (SAHDs) in the area, so I'm going to have some other SAHDs to hang out and talk to.
Jen is back to work 3/4 time and will go back full time at the end of summer. It's been great to have some transition time while she was only part time and we could play (or nap) in the afternoon. Fortunately, since the Transportation Security Administration moved to Pentagon City, she's right around the corner. So even when she's back full time, she'll still be home early. And with me staying home, she can come home and know that Arden's been in good hands, without having to stress about getting to the daycare center before they start charging penalty fees. And when she goes back to full time, I hope to have dinner at least planned, if not ready, when she gets home.
Arden continues to grow and learn at an amazing rate. He's really quite amazing and we're enjoying parenthood immensely.
Out of Work
Thursday, August 14, 2003
