Sorry I don’t have a "real" job

Don’t let anyone ever tell you that staying at home with kids isn’t real work. I’ve worked in several jobs, and the difference between looking after little ones and a "real" job is that the "real" job affords you a lot more time to goof off during the middle of the day. Looking after a child requires that you be on the ball all day long.

Today I woke up at 7:45 a.m. and took a shower and enjoyed breakfast with Christine, who was just arriving home from the night shift.

At 8:30 I punched the clock. Jonas was ready to get up so I changed his bum, got him dressed, brought him downstairs, prepared his oatmeal and cut up his apple, and sat with him for a few minutes while he ate. Then I made a few business calls while he finished up. Somewhere in there I took the dog out for a pee and fed her as well. Dogs don’t feed themselves.

Jonas and I left for playgroup at 10:15. For the next 90 minutes or so I watched him intently, read with him, played with, got his snack for him. Believe me, there wasn’t much down time.

We came home at noon. I prepared our lunch (french toast) and then enjoyed a "working lunch" with my son. It wasn’t a lunch break - a lunch break implies that some sort of break was taken.

Then I tidied up the kitchen for a few minutes while Jonas played rather loudly in the living room. After that it was time for a bum change and (thankfully) a nap. Luckily he went quietly.

Next it was time for dad to do some grownup work. I took a couple of hours to catch up on correspondence and work on my column - which I didn’t get finished before Jonas woke up.

So I got Jonas up and realized we had at least 90 minutes before supper. The two of us headed to the park where Jonas played on the slide, teeter totter, and eventually shoveled sand into a sand pail. Then it was time to go. One of us was not happy and had to dragged home.

I got supper started and played with Jonas while Christine finished preparing it. Then we ate supper. Again, it was a "working supper."

Afterwards I cleaned the kitchen (again), took Jonas for his bath, got him in his PJs, brushed his teeth, then read him his story along with Christine, who was nice enough to take him to bed.

I walked the dog.

I came home and finished my column. Thank goodness it’s done.

I live a full and balanced life. I have four different sources of income that contribute to the financial well-being of our family. I spend every single day looking after my son. He doesn’t go to daycare - that’s money we’re saving because of me.

I write this to remind myself that I’m making a difference in the lives of two people in particular. Sometimes it’s easy to forget.