The Question
A question I’m frequently asked is, “What do you do with your day.”
It’s hard to explain my day in a way that satisfies the questioner. It’s hard to communicate how much time is just spent ‘playing’ with Alex, feeding him, changing him, and keeping him fed, clean, happy, and stimulated. It’s also hard to explain how much he slows most tasks down. I’ve been thinking about how to describe my day… but I think the better thing to do is to describe my week. I’ll get around to that sometime… or not.
Writing
Things are both good and bad here. I actually have enough time to write… I’m just not in the right frame of mind. Part of it is that taking care of Alex seems boring to everyone except Dina, Alex, and I… and sometimes even we get bored of it. Part of it is that I’m in a quieter mood.
Sexism
Encountering a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle sexism as a stay-at-home dad, and quite frankly, as a dad period. I should be blogging more about this since it drives me nuts.
The one that’s currently stuck in my craw? A ‘friend’ of mine said “You’re rich. You can afford to take a year off to take care of Alex.” Would that person have said the same thing if Dina took the year off? I seriously doubt it.
I would certainly be particularly interested in hearing about the sexism, since gender is my subfield of history :)
Also, I just have to ask: what bell is Dina standing next to in the picture?
Mira: I’ll try to note down the sexism as it happens. You should’ve heard me ranting when I was planning the wedding. As for the bell… it’s the one at the church on top of Mt.-Sinai.
Anybody who has stayed home with a baby knows what you do with your day. I remember reading an essay by a woman whose house plants all died because she didn’t even seem to have the time to water them. That’s extreme, though.
I believe you about the sexism, and will be looking forward to your notes for Mira.
uh-oh – the houseplants!
I barely remember to feed the fish more than 4times a week… no need to explain anything.