Escaping the Daily Grind for Life as a House Father

“You on vacation?” my neighbor asked.

My 15-month-old son and I were passing her yard on our daily hike through the neighborhood. It was a weekday afternoon and I was the only working-age male in sight.

“I’m, uh . . . working out of my house now,” I told her.

Thus was born my favorite euphemism for house fatherhood, one of those new life-style occupations that is never merely mentioned. Explained, yes. Defended. Even rhapsodized about. Or in my case, fibbed about. I was tongue-tied then, but no longer. People are curious and I’ve learned to oblige.

I joined up earlier this year when I quit my job--a dead-end, ulcer-producing affair that had dragged on interminably. I left to be with my son until something better came along. And if nothing did, I’d be with him indefinitely.

This was no simple transition. I had never known a house father, never met one. I’d only read about them. They were another news magazine trend. Being a traditionalist, I never dreamed I’d take the plunge.

But as the job got worse, I gave it serious thought. And more thought. And in the end, I still felt ambivalent. This was a radical change that seemed to carry as many drawbacks as benefits. My dislike for work finally pushed me over the edge. That, and the fact that we had enough money to get by.

Escaping the treadmill was a bold stroke. I had shattered my lethargy and stopped whining, and for that I was proud.

Some friends said they were envious. Of course they weren’t quitting one job without one waiting--the ultimate in middle-class taboos. That ran through my mind as I triumphantly, and without notice, tossed the letter of resignation on my boss’ desk. Then I walked away wobbly-kneed.

The initial trauma of quitting, however, was mitigated by my eagerness to raise our son. Mine was the classic father’s lament. I felt excluded. I had become “the man who got home after dark,” that other person besides Mama. It hurt when I couldn’t quiet his crying.

I sensed that staying home would be therapeutic. The chronic competitiveness and aggressiveness that had served me well as a daily journalist would subside. Something better would emerge, something less obnoxious. My ulcer would heal. Instead of beating deadlines, I’d be doing something important for a change. This was heresy coming from a newspaper gypsy, but it rang true.

There was unease, too. I’d be adrift, stripped of the home-office-home routine that had defined my existence for more than a decade. No more earning a living. No benchmarks. Time would be seamless. Would Friday afternoons feel the same?

The newness of it was scary.

Until my resignation, my wife and I typified today’s baby-boomer couples, the want-it-all generation. We had two salaries, a full-time nanny and guilt pangs over practicing parenthood by proxy.

Now, my wife brings home the paychecks, the office problems and thanks for good work on the domestic front. With me at home, her work hours are more flexible. Nanny-less, I change diapers, prepare meals and do all the rest. And I wonder what comes next.

What if I don’t find another job? My field is tight. At 34, I’m not getting any more marketable and being out of work doesn’t help.

As my father asked incredulously: “Is this going to be what you do?”

Perhaps. I don’t know. I wonder myself. It’s even more baffling to my father, the veteran of a long and traditional 9-to-5 career. For most of it, my mother stayed home. My father doesn’t believe in trends. All he knows is that his only son--with whom he shares so many traits--has violated the natural order of men providing and women raising children. In his view, I’ve shown weakness and immaturity by succumbing to a bad job.

But he’s trying to understand, and I think he will.

I’m trying to understand it myself. House fatherhood has been humbling, rewarding and unnerving.

“It’s different,” I tell friends. “Different.”

Imagine never having to leave home for the office in the morning. That’s how different. No dress-up, no commute. Just tumble out of bed and you’re there. House fathering is not for claustrophobics.

I find myself enjoying early morning shopping. My son and I arrive right after the supermarket opens. The place is almost empty. For the next hour we glide dreamily, cruising the aisles to a Muzak accompaniment. This is my idyll. My son likes it, too; he’s fascinated by the spectacle.

Housekeeping still doesn’t seem like work, and that’s by design. I’ve mastered the art of doing just enough chores to get by. This leaves me enough free time. Time to read and write and daydream. Time with my son. Time to think about the structure.

So much time, and so little traditional structure, that the days sometimes blur together. I remember on Sunday nights literally dreading the approaching work week, the grind. Today, the close of the weekend still triggers a shiver of apprehension; I now face the prospect of a week without tangible accomplishments, a void.

Line of No Return

On our hikes to the playground, I can feel my old identity fading. All around are people with a mission, a sense of purpose. Workers. And then there’s the rest of us--the stroller and backpack contingent. The moms, the nannies, and me. I wonder if I’ve crossed over a line never to return.

Still, the ulcer seems to be healing. I take pride in laying out a good dinner for the family and in pampering my wife after a tough day at the office. I love reading to my son. Running errands isn’t even so bad. A lot of what had been drudgery or trivia is taking on new meaning; maybe I’m mellowing.

Which is ironic. To be a truly committed and effective at-home parent, there must be this change--a softening, a contentment with small pleasures, the outwardly mundane. This is a time of reduced demands and lowered expectations. Progress is gradual, often agonizingly so. Patience is essential. Ambition and competitiveness are anathema. Yet eliminating these last two qualities--losing the edge--could ruin my chances of resurrecting my career. I can’t have it both ways.

The conflict has yet to be resolved. And it won’t be unless I make a firm commitment and chose one life style over the other. I’m not yet ready for that decision.

In the meantime, a wonderful change is taking place in our home. Amid all the uncertainties, my son and I have gotten to know each other. He can’t put a phrase together, but he confides in me. It can be nothing more than a grin or a devilish look. He tries new words on me, new shtick. We roll around a lot; we crack each other up. I’m no longer the third wheel, the man who gets home after dark. Now, I’m as much a part of his life as his mother is. I, too, can stop his crying. So far, that has made the experiment worthwhile.