And so it begins...

It's not like I'm exactly new at this...if there's one good thing my mother instilled in me, it was definitely how to manage and care for a family and a household. Physically, definitely, if not fully emotionally, but that's a matter for my shrink.

Maybe a little background is important. Following graduate school, I followed my future wife south because she was a teacher and had a job, and my employment prospects were just as good down there as they were here in Michigan. Well, after 3 years, we were at a point where we (mostly me) decided we hated where we lived and wanted to be closer to family. In reality, she liked more than she disliked, and I was the opposite. But it was a compromise so we moved back.

The downfall of that, however, was that she didn't have a job teaching here in Michigan, and probably wasn't going to get one any time soon. I was "fortunate" enough to get a job, but the position, expectations and culture were a horrible, stressful fit and we parted ways. So, for the past year, aside from my wife subbing, babysitting and tutoring when she could, we've both been unemployed.

Enter July, where my wife finally got a teaching position and was going back to work full time! Definitely a life-saver, but for me, after a year of fighting the Michigan economy trying to find a job, it was fairly devastating to my sense of self-achievement. Before, when we were both out of work, we could pretty much relocate anywhere for the right job. Now, we can't sacrifice her position and we don't want to split up the family, yet the available positions around us are pretty slim and highly competitive, even for someone with my credentials.

And so, about 2 weeks ago, I resigned myself to the fact that, at least for the time being, that I was going to have to be a stay-at-home dad. And I'm OK with this--it's just another opportunity to demonstrate the same sort of excellence that I would bring to a job. Plus, it affords me more time to do things that a job can't afford, like freelance/consulting work (and some business development work that will hopefully take off), learning some foreign languages, volunteering, more fitness, etc. I guess the only downfall is that by staying with me, the kids'll be probably pretty screwed up, but you can't win them all.

Since not too many guys are either like me or in my position, I figured that a chronicle of the highs, lows, and adventures of watching a 4-year old and a 1-year old should be either entertaining, inspiring, or fear-instilling. Regardless, I'll try to blog every morning, after the bride heads off to work and before the daily circus commences.

And so it begins....