Posted by
Contrarian Guitarist on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 2:51:44 PM
I'll be the first to admit that there is more than a little cognitive dissonance on my behalf (as well as many thoughtful conservatives commenting on articles and calling radio talk shows), regarding a mother of five being second in command to the "leader of the Free World". Largely because we all know women (my own wife included) who have found greater fulfillment being stay-at-home mothers than they ever did in the workplace.
I had some thoughts. Been known to happen. Sarah Palin is really more like a mother of three at this point. Though raising a down syndrome child could very well be equal to the work of three children. She is a "mother of five" in name only. But that was a bit qualifying, so then I thought... well John McCain sacrificed greatly for his country, why not Sarah Palin? I mean how many overachieving fathers (and mothers) sacrificed their progeny on the alter of career? Still though I wasn't satisfied with that line of reasoning. And then it hit me.
Many, if not most, of our couple friends here in Los Angeles started their marriages with the wife out earning the husband. I'm a musician and many of our acquaintances are in the arts, a generally slow starting career. This was indeed the case for my wife and I. She, as a school teacher, out earned me for the first ten years of our now 21 year marriage. We started a family about five years into this marital adventure, and unfortunately my career didn't provide the needed funds for my spouse to stay at home. The solution? Enroll our son 7am to 7pm preschool? Sorry, no. I stayed home. For seven years after the birth of our first child I was a stay-at-home dad. At one point we had three under six. But was it ever fun. I was the ponytailed guy walking around town with a baby strapped to my chest (via a "snuggly") and pushing a double stroller.
I'm a big one for having no regrets in life. My father always regretted giving up his desired career to be a literature professor because of pressure from his Father-in-Law (my grandfather) to get a real job is sales to support his daughter (my mother). I've stayed the course in my chosen career and love every day of it. My wife and I have raised our kids fully and thoroughly as our own. Never leaving that job to anyone else. There is very little I've missed in the process. A newer car? A grammy? Nah, they would pale to the frequently heard petition, "would you guys raise our kids?"
Fathers make great, um, fathers. When we let them. I'm sure Todd Palin will be an excellent stay-at-home Dad. And an excellent "Second Dude".