Changing of the Guard

The paperwork is in. The Monkey Momma will be reducing her days in the office to three, and I will be increasing my days in the office to four. Put another way, I will be home one day/week, and she will home two days/week. The Monkey will still have a parent at home three days a week -- and a caregiver for the other two days a week -- but the actual identity of the parent in question will be different.

I don't know quite what to make of the transition. There's a lot to like, but a few things about which I am ambivalent.

The Monkey and I are accustomed to spending one errand day together, and one fun day together. You know, one day doing grocery shopping followed by a day at the zoo. A day butting heads at the DC Regulatory Authority, and a day at the arboretum or a museum. Or maybe just a day sitting in, playing and reading books.

This week was an unfortunate exception: a day centered around bringing the car into the shop for repairs, followed by a day centered around going to the grocery store (and having lunch with a friend).

But how will we cope with just a single day together? Will we make a fun day out of it -- relying on Monkey Momma to pick up some of the slack -- or will we burn it doing errands?

I will say this much about the 6+ months I have spent as a full-time or part-time stay-at-home dad: it's very rewarding, and reducing the time I spend with our son is a sacrifice.