Countdown

Julie has four weeks remaining on her maternity leave, which means that I have four weeks remaining before my leave starts. It's a complicated household when one person is looking forward to the same day that the other is dreading.

I keep telling Julie that going back to work will be fine. All it means is that she'll have a better balance of activities that exploit her strengths. She'll get to do all those officy things like managing efficiency and strategizing collaboration to achieve synergy. Then she'll get to come home and be a mom. Perhaps it'll be the best of both worlds. I've been working this whole time, and I haven't minded it.

But let's talk more about me. In four weeks I will answer only to a daughter and a wife. True, they are the two most demanding women I've ever met, but there's something to be said for the simplicity of expectations when you're a stay-at-home dad. If Lyla and I do fun things together and the house stays clean, then I will be deemed successful. If Julie arrives home from work to a clean house, a satisfied baby, and I've taken a shower, then it's bonus time. I think I can handle that.

I bet there will be days when I'm just itching to get back in a classroom.

Ha! That's hilarious. I like teaching and all, and I really dig my students this year, but when that door closes behind me this March and I'm off until late August, you will not find me looking back.