My wife travels a few weeks every month, so I am basically a stay-at-home dad. I mean, I have my great online clients, and I train a few folks here in South Jersey and I write and do a seminar once in a while, but my main job is taking care of my kids. I coached for 30 years and that was enough, so I graduated to HouseDad. I have two boys here(the other son is away in college), ages 16 and 11. When I tell you that taking care of them is a full-time job, I am speaking the truth. I'm either cleaning up after them or cooking for them or yelling at them. It never ends. Over stupid shit, too. Touching each other's stuff. Aren't they too old for that? They both act like 5 year-olds. In fact, I think that they are regressing daily probably due to my parenting skills. Yelling and threatening don't seem to be working very well. Every day, I say to myself, I'm not gonna yell, I'm not gonna yell. Stoic, right? What does it matter that they are trying to kill each other? But 5 minutes into the day, I'm spewing obscenities left and right. It just comes out. I call them names sometimes, too. But I love them. I'm just sorta old for this. I mean, all my friends are going on vacations, and their kids are in college or are working jobs. Not me, baby. No exotic vacations, here. These boys can eat. It's expensive. I dropped into the store today for 12 pounds of ground beef, and that's just for a few days of meals for the 16-year-old. Not to mention the fruit replenished every 3 days, the rice, potatoes, etc. So they are money suckers, suck it right out of your wallet and into their bellies. Kills me, that damn grocery bill. I like the checkout ladies, though. I know all about their lives. At the local Acme Supermarket. The one with a leak in her chimney, the one who has been at Acme for 30 years. But they just built a new Shoprite down the street, and it's better than Acme. The doughnuts, oh man. So I haven't seen my checkout girls for a while. But anyway, the kids are rough and with this economy, I'm thinking about giving them away. Not that anyone would be able to stand them for 5 minutes. You'd have to separate them., Different families. Kidding. Love them to death.
So with my lack of usual free time today, I just sat down, turned on BareKnuckle Championship, and watched it straight through for an hour straight. I'm sure my kids were watching something horrid on their phones or trying to suffocate each other, but I didn't care. My brain needed it.
So, In conclusion, it is rewarding to be a houseman house husband. I guess, man. Not really. Peace is rewarding. I need some of that. Today, I had an hour of it. I'm gonna do that every day, I believe. It may save me in the end.
