Friday, February 11, 2005

Earning My Pay

There are days when I wonder if taking this course (of stay at home dad) is worth it financially. Do I really add as much value doing what I do as I could by holding a "regular" job? The intangible benefits are certainly real, but they are hard to add up.

Still, there are times when I feel like I'm really earning my pay (so to speak). This is one of them

Jake is sick. Apparently, some variety of the flu. Not too bad (though for one 24 hour period the kid was really, really trying to cough up his lungs), but he's been stuck at home for 5 days now. We've been to the doctor's office twice. Rented a lot of movies. Played on the computer. Finally went to the hobby store yesterday to get some things he could do on his own that would at least partially engage his brain.

Oh, and Trish is out of town this weekend. She left Thursday and will be back on Monday. So, except for a couple of hours in the evening, I've been in charge of a sick kid since last Monday.

Okay, okay, its not like I'm facing cancer or people trying to repossess my home because I'm on dialysis and can't work, or lost everything in a tornado. But you spend a week at home with your sick kids, who are unable to play outside, or go to a park, or go and do anything fun out of the house, and see what it does to your brain. Especially if you're an introverted type like me.

I just hope this passes by tomorrow. He could use some air, and so could I.

1 comment:

John said...

I know how you feel. I'm doing back-to-back sleepovers for my two daughters (11 & 8) in the middle of a 4 1/2 day weekend. Oh, and my wife is working overnights and, on Monday, flying to Florida for her aunt's birthday party. There are trying times with this job indeed. But I always remember that the rewards are better than for other jobs.