Redefining the "Stay-at-Home" Parent
I'd like to talk about my dad for a moment. My memories of him and Mom fuel much of my writing. My dad was very proud of the writer his daughter was becoming. Love you, Dad.
Dad was a computer scientist at Los Alamos National Lab (LANL). He loved his work there but he also liked to play and rest. He was a hard worker but not a workaholic in any way. He lived a balanced life. He was pretty happy. He was an amazing dad.
In his spare time, my dad loved flea markets, garage sales, and later on, selling/trading on the Internet. He did it as a hobby but these days, hobbies like his could become jobs for those who would like to stay home to raise their kids and still make money.
I am thinking of Dad while I write about my son, Daniel, and the way he is approaching parenthood as he and Mariah wait for their first little munchkin to arrive in the world.
Channeling Grandpa
So let's move on to Danny and talk a little about what he's doing as he prepares for a growing family. He is a lot like his grandpa in many ways.
Danny works part time at the local laundromat/car wash. He also refurbishes computers and buys/sells/trades them for other computers (in good shape or in need of repair), car parts, TV's, guitars, whatever.The way he sees it, he can make a little money repairing things for people but he can also trade for something in need of repair that he likes but maybe can't afford, and fix it for his own use.
We have a corner of the living room dedicated to all the computers and computer parts he is working on, and we find ourselves regularly checking the post office for packages with needed parts, etc. We also pick up packages for a friend who has been doing this kind of work for a while and helps Danny learn the ropes.
It's interesting to observe him learn as he goes. As he runs this home business and starts making more money at it, he hopes to phase out of the laundromat/car wash work and work from home full time. A lot of people will call him a stay-at-home dad but I think, with the changing times and changing face of the typical workplace, he should be called a "work from home" dad.
I love this. I remember resenting having to go to work when the kids were little, especially when I could have worked from home, connected to my work computer miles away. The problem then was that my boss thought I wasn't working if I stayed at home, even though she could just check my work computer to see I was connected and on task.
We need to rethink work and raising kids. It's not necessary, these days, in many cases, to drive our cars to and from another place each day to earn a living. By working from home, we could be saving gas, mileage, and time that we can put toward other things.
More importantly, in my mind, is that we would have more time to be good, kind parents and raise kids who care about our planet and its inhabitants, kids who will go out and make positive differences in our often unkind world.
I hope Danny can make this work. I think he can, and I will support him in his endeavors however possible.
Dad was a computer scientist at Los Alamos National Lab (LANL). He loved his work there but he also liked to play and rest. He was a hard worker but not a workaholic in any way. He lived a balanced life. He was pretty happy. He was an amazing dad.
In his spare time, my dad loved flea markets, garage sales, and later on, selling/trading on the Internet. He did it as a hobby but these days, hobbies like his could become jobs for those who would like to stay home to raise their kids and still make money.
I am thinking of Dad while I write about my son, Daniel, and the way he is approaching parenthood as he and Mariah wait for their first little munchkin to arrive in the world.
Channeling Grandpa
So let's move on to Danny and talk a little about what he's doing as he prepares for a growing family. He is a lot like his grandpa in many ways.
Danny works part time at the local laundromat/car wash. He also refurbishes computers and buys/sells/trades them for other computers (in good shape or in need of repair), car parts, TV's, guitars, whatever.The way he sees it, he can make a little money repairing things for people but he can also trade for something in need of repair that he likes but maybe can't afford, and fix it for his own use.
We have a corner of the living room dedicated to all the computers and computer parts he is working on, and we find ourselves regularly checking the post office for packages with needed parts, etc. We also pick up packages for a friend who has been doing this kind of work for a while and helps Danny learn the ropes.
It's interesting to observe him learn as he goes. As he runs this home business and starts making more money at it, he hopes to phase out of the laundromat/car wash work and work from home full time. A lot of people will call him a stay-at-home dad but I think, with the changing times and changing face of the typical workplace, he should be called a "work from home" dad.
I love this. I remember resenting having to go to work when the kids were little, especially when I could have worked from home, connected to my work computer miles away. The problem then was that my boss thought I wasn't working if I stayed at home, even though she could just check my work computer to see I was connected and on task.
We need to rethink work and raising kids. It's not necessary, these days, in many cases, to drive our cars to and from another place each day to earn a living. By working from home, we could be saving gas, mileage, and time that we can put toward other things.
More importantly, in my mind, is that we would have more time to be good, kind parents and raise kids who care about our planet and its inhabitants, kids who will go out and make positive differences in our often unkind world.
 |
| young Daniel with his grandpa at a weekend event |
Comments
Post a Comment