by Nathan Munro

Created on: March 29, 2009

Talk about a bad day. It was almost exactly a year ago that I was hit by two bombs of bad news on the same day, that my father had passed away and that I would not be asked back to my job. I was a teacher in a charter school that was getting a new principal who wanted to bring in more of his own people. As for my father, he was a true friend and a model of parental patience. After my parents divorced he and I lived together, just the two of us, until I went off to college.

My dad found his true calling as a grandpa. He was irreplacable in helping to care for my brother's and my sister's kids. He took them to school, baby sat, and provided grand-daddy day care. I have lived out of town for years and he never got to spend much time with my two young daughters. So when I was faced with the prospect of no job, and the lingering pain of knowing that he would never know them, I decided that a year at home would be a great move for me. I could try to channel his patient ways and curious interests and give my girls a sense of their "dupaw."

My wife is also a teacher and had not taught since our first girl was born so she was excited to return to teaching. She went back, and I stayed home. I had been at home with my girls alone before, of course, but that first day she went to work was surreal. I was in charge of every diaper change. I had to feed them. I had to make bottles. I had to entertain two baby girls while making sure no one burned the house down.

My teaching background saved me as a stay at home father. I have taught elementary school in some really tough schools so I am used to children and challenges. I can think on their level. I have experience negotiating with tiny people and disciplining them as well. If you are thinking of staying home but do not have experience with kids, I advise you to enlist the help of qualified individuals as resources.

Now I am at the end of my amazing run as a stay at home dad. I will likely get a teaching job next school year. This past year has been tough but unforgettable. I would not trade this experience for anything. My oldest daughter and I have a bond that is very strong. She is three and already knows two things about her daddy-that he would do anything for her and that he does not play games when it comes to misbehavior. And I got to be an integral part of my youngest daughter's development. She is a year and half old. When I started she was only crawling, now she is walking, running, climbing, talking, singing and I got to see that develop on a daily basis.

There are challenges to staying at home. I never know how I will be interpreted by the ladies in the "mommy cirlces." I am a curiousity in the least. At worst, people see stay at home dads as slackers, bums or ineffective care-givers. Taking the girls out of the house can be an issue. I am still not comfortable taking them out to eat at a restaurant by myself, and whether you're at the mall or McDonald's bathrooms are an issue. I know men's rooms, and I don't want to take my three year old in one of those to go potty.

All in all, this year will go down as one of my very favorites. My girls and I have forged a bond that should last at least until they start dating punks in high school. And waking up in the morning with no job to rush to is pretty cool. But the main thing I have learned this year is that we all should take a little more time with our kids. That time is precious.

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