QDaddy's blog

Now every parent gets exited about their child's firsts. Yesterday we had another first...her first Haircut.

This was a big day. In fact, it was huge! Our daughter is now approaching 2 years old. Twenty-two and a half months if you want to talk semantics. We have been waiting and waiting...and waiting some more for her hair to get to the point were she...

a) did not look like a boy

b) was long enough that the hair would hopefully not roaster tail at the back.

and, I guess...

c) we could not stand the disheveled look anymore.

We had talked about how exciting it would be. How this would be is a great Mother-Daughter bonding experience.

Would she sit still long enough for the stylist to work her magic? How we would keep a lock of hair to signify the day. Well, most of that happened. Unfortunately, my wife had to miss this experience. We had been trying to find a time where she could be there, but as she is due with our second child at the end of January. Finding the time when she had the energy, among all the other commitments during the holiday season, is almost impossible. So as reality begins to sink in, I grabbed the camera on the way out the door.

There is a local chain called Beaner's that specializes in "fun cuts for kids". It used to be about a two minute drive from our house, but after the porn shop opened up next door to it, they thought that maybe it was time to move. After getting their, I could see why it is so popular. They have cartoons to watch, a ball room to play in and fun chairs to sit in. We chose the pink Jeep. After we got settled, it was...Snap, snap, snap! I managed to capture the experience for her mom but I realized after, I kind of feel like I missed it too.

The problem I find with trying to capture those special moments is that you are not actually in...that moment! You are simply a bystander to the whole event. Worried about the composition, the lighting, the subjects movement and trying to make sure you do not miss the smile. You somehow, unintentionally miss out too.

It is funny how that happens.

My wife was happy, the pictures turned out well, so I guess it was a successful moment in time. Then something happened that put it all in perspective for us.

My wife was home alone with our daughter and thinking that the day was a success and that she still felt like she was apart of something special. I went out to play my weekly sport and came home earlier than expected. Thinking the day was already a success, my wife turns to me as we watch a little TV and says. Our baby told her that she loved her tonight!

So really, who cares about a silly haircut anyways!

So I watched a full episode of Dr. Phil a few days ago. The episode was called "When She is the Bread Winner"

I thought Great! I'm going to enjoy this episode. Boy was I wrong. I should have known when I saw the preview photo on his website. Here is what I wrote on their site:

I am not at all fond of the picture used for this episode. It depicts us (Stay-at-Home Dads) as fat middle-aged men that sit around the house and do housework.  We are not all like that. In fact, many of us are Work-at-Home Dads. We may not be earning what we used to but we are actually working just as hard, if not harder than we did before.

Parenting is not just about housework. As any responsible parent will agree (or should agree). Being the primary caregiver to your children is the most important job anyone could every have and it is a 24/7 commitment!

The one luxury many of us do have, is the flexibility in our jobs to work from home. We are caregivers-by-day, Breadwinners-by-night: Sometimes the loaf is more like a bun, but it is still made with flour and yeast, isn’t it!

How is this any different than when the roles are reversed? Many moms have part-time jobs or the husband holds down more than one job. We do what we have to do to make ends meet and we do it the best we can!

Currently being a SAHD is isolating...there is no doubt about that. But the future is brighter with more attention being paid to our 'invisible' minority in the media like this program. There are also a handful of blogs and social networking websites that help connect other SAHDs out there.

Here are a few: www.stayathomedad.org, www.rebeldad.com, www.dadcentric.com or even my blog : www.dadmestic.com