Father's Day 2009: The Most Tiring Day Ever
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 3:30PM 
In honor of Father's Day, yesterday I tried to give my husband (a stay-at-home dad) the day off. In less time than it took for Carly (now 15 months old) to remove all the salad dressing bottles from the refrigerator, I realized this was going to be a very long day.
I'm used to taking care of Carly in short spurts with defined goals: get her down for a nap; feed her breakfast; take her to the doctor; give her a bath; nurse her to bed.
It's an entirely different matter when the day is wide open and I'm supposed to fill it. Especially when it's raining.
The rain meant that one of my favorite Carly activities (taking a walk to the playground with the nice baby swing) was out of the question. It also meant that the dog was trapped inside with us, doing her "I'll just keep giving my [disgusting doggy] bone to Carly and see what happens" trick.
Oh boy.
We played with Carly's toys. We watched "The Wiggles." I watched Carly open all the kitchen cabinets, take everything out, and put everything back in the wrong places. We read books - G is for Goat, The Foot Book, Hop on Pop, Goodnight Moon.
Then I checked the time to see how much longer it would be until lunch.
It was 9:15 AM.
Seriously, how do you stay-at-home moms and dads do this every day? You are amazing people.
I absolutely adore my daughter, but by the end of the day yesterday I was really starting to lose it. And just for extra fun times, Carly decided not to go to bed until 10 pm (her usual bedtime is around 8).
I have never been as ready for Monday to come as I was last night.
It was wonderful to spend some extra quality time with Carly, and we ended up having a really nice Father's Day lunch at a lovely Italian restaurant, but yesterday was a great reminder that my family's working mom/stay-at-home dad arrangement is just as it should be.
Right now, for example, I'm working upstairs. Carly's downstairs playing with her Dad, and in a few minutes he'll bring her up so I can put her down for a nap. Carly and I will have some special cuddly time and then it's back to my desk.
All's right with the world.
How was your Father's Day? Share in the comments! And if you'd like to get updates whenever there's a new post on The Breadwinner Mom, click here to subscribe!
photo credit: Greg Westfall
Reader Comments (8)
You should try it with 4 kids. This is why I am nuts and most moms drink!!!
hahahaa! this made me laugh - i used to feel the same way!! and just in case you get all day duty in the near future, i can highly recommend the mall, starbucks, the grocery store (with a muffin), and anywhere that requires driving and includes 'kid music' (it's better than the wiggles anyway!) in the CD player.
Next year will be better! at over 2 years old she will be better equipped to tell you she doesn't like your cabinet organizing system and will be reorganizing for you, please keep it that way. hehehe :)
Get out of the house! Do your grocery shopping, anything. Make everything into a kids' activity. When we go grocery shopping, we get the cart with the car in front. I also let the kids pick a treat and eat it while we shop. It is definitely worth it. We have a great day together, getting our errands done in the process. Staying home all day makes the day drag on forever. Also, find out what free/cheap stuff is available in your neighborhood. We have a whole morning schedule that involves a different outing each day: Library story time, Mommy & Me, the zoo, TotShabbat at the JCC, etc. It may also be worth investing in one or two memberships such as the local children's museum, science center, zoo, aquarium, etc. These are places that you can visit over and over again, and you won't feel guilty "wasting" money if you only stay 45 minutes since you can come back as often as you like.
Kate,
Yay! I love making people laugh :)
I will definitely try the mall or maybe Starbucks next time - thanks for the suggestions!
Traci
CE - thanks for the helpful suggestions! We have a membership to our local zoo, and on nice days it's a great activity. I'm going to look into some of the other stuff you mentioned :)
Traci,
Not sure quite where to start, as I am not the writer that you are.
I don't remember your father and I giving each other days, I suppose we were on different kind of schedule but we shared Father's day and Mother's day together. Along with visiting our own parents, which is difficult for you being out of town and having all of us so spread out.
Your father was exceptional at finding things for all of us to do and when you and your brother were old enough to voice your own opinons we took those into consideration.
I supoose a rainy day does make it more difficult, but malls usually have activities and play areas set up for little ones.
Hey maybe Carly's rearranging might work out better, you never know.
I love you, Momeeeeeee
Oh, I know EXACTLY how you feel! I love my sons to bits, but I have a hard time keeping them busy all day myself. I guess it would be easier if I didn't have my husband here looking after them most of the time, it's probably a question of what you are used to. Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for my mom who used to be alone with us for weeks at a time!
@Genesis - Thanks for your comment! Good to know I'm not the only one :)