Thursday, January 19, 2006

It's all about the wife

Every once in awhile, I run into someone who reminds of, well, me - in some previous time in my life, of course. Most of the time, I think, "Yeah. I used to value that stuff too", or, "Boy. I used to make stupid (perhaps "ill-conceived" is better) comments like that too. Then I feel sorry for the person and blessed for myself all at the same time.

In some ways, raising a family is like going back to college. The classes are hard. The parties are wild. The people in the dorm next door keep pounding on the wall (oh, wait - that's my teenagers in the room next door). The same drunk girl keeps showing up in your bed.

But one thing every father eventually learns is staying at home raising children is not the easiest job in the world. In fact, it is down right hard. And I don't mean watching the kids for a few hours while your wife ties one on with the neighborhood wives. I mean total responsibility for more than two kids with no relatives or babysitters of any kind for an a longer period of time then it takes for a football game to end or a six-pack to disappear.

I get it. The job sucks. And I have to hand it to my wife for agreeing to take the job. Here's to you, baby! You're the best VP of Ops I ever met.