Thinking of Daddy

Thinking of Daddy

My husband, Luke, is a great father. There was never really any doubt that he would be. He's always had a proclivity for interacting with children - a skill that I used to mistake for immaturity but now appreciate as pure genius. He's also a great husband for many reasons, not the least of which is the well-oiled system that we've devised.

The other day, I came home from another exhausting commute back from work. A ride that should be about 20 minutes had taken 50 minutes because of a simple fender bender. I walked into the house frustrated, tired, and cranky to find my husband sitting on the couch reading our four-month-old daughter a story and waiting for a pot of water to boil for dinner. A miracle you say? No, a system.

When I went back to work, we devised a very clear system of responsibilities. My husband works from home, has no commute, and obviously can't breastfeed. So, three days a week he takes care of the baby in the morning, drives her to the sitter, gets her back from the sitter at 5:00 and starts dinner before I get home. Two days a week, I work from home and take over the childcare and dinner on those nights. Weekend dinners are a free for all. It's not always a perfect system. We both have moments of laziness, but the system works for us and leaves little room for resentment or confusion.

Luke is a great father and a great husband. I think that our relationship is stronger both because I work and because we've devised a way to share the responsibilities. We stay more connected to our child, our house, and each other.