Stay-at-home-dad
My brood sight-seeing somewhere near Whistler.
I come back and read my Bible, while James and Sophia hang out, playing or reading. (Unless it is a Tuesday or Thursday, then I drop Sophia at pre-school in the AM). Sophia is pretty independent and can play on her own. James will usually pull some of his books off a shelf and drop it on my lap, indicating he wants me to read to him - or sometimes, he'll snuggle up w. me and read on his own.
Every so often, he'll grab onto the fridge door and yell, indicating he's hungry. So, I give him something to eat.
After awhile, I go downstairs, catch up on e-mail and other messages. James follows and again will usually sit on my lap and also try to bang on the keys.
At 11:00, James has a nap - then it is very quiet, and I can get some work done. I usually check out job databases, and scan if there's any ministry positions that might fit. If I find something that looks good, I compose a cover letter, and send off my resume. I have to confess, most of these come to nothing. Most churches never bother to respond. I did get a couple of e-mails and one actual letter. I've had a couple of interviews with some local churches - we'll see where they end up. But most churches, usually send no reply of any kind. What is really frustrating, is when a church actually calls, does an interview, or asks you to submit some papers of answer questions from them - and then NEVER call back!!! I even had one church interview me for a position. I waited a week, and then e-mailed and called them - and 3 weeks later, I still haven't heard from them!
At 12:00, Sophia and I have lunch. I have her eating healthy with me now - mostly salads. She's not a very fussy eater.
At 2:25, I leave to pick up Adam. I walk if its nice, drive if its not. We drive or walk back together as he recounts to me his day.
We're usually back by 3:00 - Felicia is usually awake by now, after working the night shift. And at 3, I go for a run, or to the gym, or to a local coffee shop, if I need to do some work away from the kiddies.
At 5:00, I start making dinner - again pretty healthy, lean meat or fish w. a side of veggies, and a salad.
At 6:00, I watch the news, and try to get the kids to play on another level of the house so I can hear what's going on.
By 7:00, things start winding down. I'll put James down. He goes down without a fuss, and sleeps through the night, which is awesome. I'll read a Bible story or a kids devotional with Adam and Sophia.
At 8, Sophia goes to be. Adam goes to bed by 9.
After Adam goes to bed, if I am still clear thinking, I'll go into my office and do some work until around 10. At 10, I'll watch tv, if something good is on, or maybe a video.
I watch the news again at 11, and then go to bed.
And that.... is my new glamorous life, until I find a new ministry position.
What I've learned is that a parent that stays at home, spends most of their time for their kids. There's very little time for yourself. If you look at my schedule from 7 AM to 3 PM, its pretty much revolving around the kids. There's a 2 hr. break from 3-5, and then again, 4 hrs. doing stuff w. and for the kids. So that's 12 hrs. of your day that is primarily orchestrated around the lives of your children.
This is excellent training to learn how to serve others. Being a stay at home parent, forces you into a situation, where the majority of your time is spent for other people, not yourself. This is one way in which God weans us from our self-centeredness, and helps us serve and focus on the needs of others.
So, until I get to serve in a church, I'll continue to serve my kids at home.
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