A shout out for the working partners!

I think in general when a lot of us look at the world we see a lot that doesn’t feel right.  Global warming, racial issues, rising cost of living, and a myriad of other issues create a world that is flawed.

We as a general population have the desire to improve the world that we and our children live in.  We might not do as much as we should have, we do believe in striving for a better world.

Something we have been making progress (perhaps not as fast as we should!) with is equal rights for men and women.  Its something that most decent people see as logical that if we do the same task, we get the same benefit.

Parenting is one of those items where the older stereotypes still break through.  Although you do see more fathers taking on the hefty parenting work in most cases it is still the mother who is home with the children while the father works.

In any family environment there is generally one parent who works full time and another who works part time or not at all.  In most cases it is very difficult to have a 50/50 split of parenting duties due to the way in which people work.  This creates a divide where the work isn’t split equally but rather delegated in a semi even manner.

If one parent is working full time they obviously can’t be looking after the child and if the other parent is the primary carer it can be incredibly difficult to work consistent hours due to the appointments and the general health of the children.

I made a decision to move to a job closer to home with the birth of our child.  I can’t say I regret the work life balance when I can be home with the family for dinner instead of still commuting.  It means that in general I feel like I put in some work with the parenting however its obviously not an even split.

The fact that the split isn’t even can affect you in different ways.  In some cases, there can be bitterness “Why am I having to work all the time” or “Why am I always left with the kids” in my case its something rather different, its sadness.

Our child is having issues with teeth.  A not surprising development as any parent would know, but it creates the “Koala Effect” where the child doesn’t roam freely but rather cling on for dear life with occasional whimpers as request for sustenance.  Nobody ever wants their child to be unwell however as a parent there is something special about the koala effect where your child snuggles in for safety.

Unfortunately for me (or unfortunately for my partner?) our child clings to her like she’s surgically attached.  It means that no task can really be performed without taking the growth.  Despite a general lack of cross-country travel and a rather fast commute when sadness kicks in our child still goes to her mum.  I know its not a personal thing but it’s hard to deal with at times.  We always here about how being a parent is such a hard job and how they deserve praise.  This is a shout out to the working parents especially those who travel.

When you get home and want that quality time only to have the koala treatment its ok to be sad.  Just know that you’re a key part of the family too and when the koala does snuggle in then make sure you enjoy it even more!