I’m a stay-at-home dad

When you live where I live, you sometimes get the feeling the world is very small. Sometimes I feel like the only man in the world who is staying at home with his child. I am only starting to realize that this is 2007 and attitudes toward men staying at home have changed dramatically. In my case, I quit my job to do so - I am not on parental leave. I have therefore entered the abyss, not knowing where or when I will be working next. It is kind of frightening. I have done a lot of thinking on the subject and have come to the conclusion that staying at home is a much more rewarding position than any job I have ever had. Suppose we were living in suburb, the only part of the GTA where we could afford a home - and even then we would be stretched pretty thin. Well, it is unlikely I would get home from work before 6 pm. When you consider that Jonas goes to bed at 7, that would leave me with no more than an hour to spend with him each day. How sad is that?

I am so happy to have this bonding time with Jonas. We are getting to know each other very well. I have become quite adept at getting him to go to sleep with minimal fuss. I love how it feels to have him fall asleep in my arms. He lets out the cutest little sigh just before he falls asleep, and then I hear a very quiet snore. I consider it a victory each time I get him to go down.

Being a stay-at-home parent is much more challenging than working outside the home. The only breaks I get are when Jonas goes for a nap, which on a good day happens twice and lasts for about an hour each time. I treasure the quiet time when he sleeps. You have no idea how nice it is to have time to decompress and rejuvinate myself for the oncoming storm. There are times, however, when I have to get some work done for my column. I do most of my writing after he’s gone to bed, but there are instances when I have to make phone calls or conduct interviews. Last week I was on a conference call with Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. And guess what? Yep, Jonas was between naps. I held Jonas in my lap, hoping he wouldn’t fuss, but of course he did. So, I did what any parent would do - I put my finger in his mouth and prayed that would do the trick. It didn’t. I managed to get through the call without major incident. I guess Jonas had a few questions of his own for Murray.

Jonas is now crawling enthusiatically and can hold himself up rather nicely, as you can see in this picture. This is my favourite because it really demonstrates the joy he exhibits every day.