10 Reasons Being A Stay-At-Home Dad Has Made My Wife A Man
Currently I've been reading Jeremy Adam Smith's new book, The Daddy Shift: How Stay-at-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared Parenting Are Transforming the American Family. As you can probably already guess from the title, the general thrust of the book deals with the shifting roles between fathers and mothers as parents. I'll probably deal with the subject matter more in depth at a later date, but for now I would like to comment on the matter of a parent's reversal in tendencies that can occur when dad takes care of the kids and mom takes care of business.
Having been a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) for just over a year, I can certainly attest to changes in the behaviors exhibited by Ashley and me. In fact, after giving it more thought, I was able to jot down a list of specifics to share with others. And here they are.
10. She leaves the toilet seat up
9. Regularly uses quotes from All in the Family and anything with Will Ferrell in it (just noticed that she used the credit card to buy Season 1 of The Man Show).
8. Would rather pop open a beer and watch Sportcenter than talk to me about her day
7. Drinks from the carton then leaves the empty container in the fridge
6. Has to be reminded to take out the trash
5. She wants to buy a motorcycle (she hasn't said anything, but I've found the brochures in her nightstand)
4. Her subscription to Playboy (also discovered in the nightstand)
3. She's started playing golf (Saturday mornings are now "her time")
2. She's not embarrassed to purchase condoms, but gets red-faced in front of the checkout clerk when she has to get feminine hygiene products
And the number one reason...
1. You can't see it, but that black eye I'm sporting - I've been telling people I ran into a door, but really it's because I burnt dinner... again.
