The Role a Man Should Play

I should ask my husband to guest post his views for this topic, but I'll start off with my views - and a lot of praise.

As many of you know, I have the best husband in the world.

I am sitting at home, hibernating from some serious birch pollen counts, and he has packed up all three kids and gone off for a day trip to a lake. With kids that are 5, 4 and 1 years old, and without a car, this is no small task. And he does this frequently.

I of course manage this situation (more or less sane and exhausted) every afternoon, and also mornings before daycare and evenings whenever my husband has to travel for work (1-2 days a week). But I don't take it for granted that after a very strenuous week at work, he still makes sure that I have space and time to relax. We often meet moms at the playground on weekends who have spent the entire week with their kids, who tell us that their husbands need to rest...

The bigger picture is that we try, and I think have so far managed, to balance our roles well. (Honestly, I think I do much less at the moment, on all fronts.) We have so far alternated with our careers, which in practice means that every two years, one of us has shifted into a lower gear (part-time, study, etc.) in order to take care of the children and allow the other to work on a career (part-time career advancement doesn't work, in our opinion). We have only now, for the first time, reached a point where it doesn't appear to make sense (financially at least) to switch again - more on that later, though.

On a daily base, our life looks like two people juggling several balls - together. One makes breakfast while feeding the youngest, the other takes a shower and makes sure the older kids get ready. One does grocery shopping while the other plays with the kids, one cooks while the other cleans up with the kids, one plays with the kids while the other takes a 30-minute sanity rest (in bed, with the Economist!)...you get the picture.

I seriously don't know how I would manage such a juggling act alone. I can, for a few days, and frequently do whenever my husband has to travel for 2-3 days. But afterwards, it feels like I could sleep for 48 hours straight. I am in absolute awe whenever I think of single parents, or any (usually mom) parent who, for whatever reason, has to run weeks and weekends with the kids alone.

Therefore, a big public thank you to the best husband in the world, the father of my three most wonderful children, and the love of my life.